New 5W research finds AI search activity exceeding Google search volume for specific mattress and skincare queries, as third-party publishers emerge as influential sources in AI-generated product recommendations.
The way consumers discover products is changing — and new research from 5W reveals how quickly AI-powered search is becoming part of the purchasing journey.
Across nine high-intent product queries, estimated AI prompt volume reached 50.8% of Google search volume during the 12 months from October 2025 through September 2026.
For two queries — “best moisturizer” and “best mattress” — measured AI prompt volume exceeded corresponding Google search volume.
The research also reveals a second shift with significant implications for brands: AI platforms frequently rely on independent publishers, product review websites, and online communities when generating product recommendations.
For brands, appearing prominently in traditional search results is no longer the entire visibility challenge. Companies must also understand whether AI platforms mention their products, recommend their brands, and cite sources that support those recommendations.
This emerging environment is changing the relationship between public relations, brand reputation, content, and consumer discovery.
Through its ongoing AI Visibility Index research, proprietary technology, and integrated communications capabilities, 5W is studying how brands appear across AI platforms — and what the shift means for marketing and communications leaders.
Key Findings From 5W's AI Search Research
The study identifies five significant developments:
AI search volume reached 50.8% of Google search volume across nine selected high-intent product queries.
AI activity exceeded Google search activity for two specific queries. “Best moisturizer” recorded 255.2% of corresponding Google search volume, while “best mattress” reached 118.8%.
AI prompt volume grew nearly four times faster than Google search volume across the nine measured queries, increasing 32.3% compared with Google's 8.5%.
Independent publishers frequently dominated ChatGPT citations. NerdWallet appeared in 34.1% of analyzed credit card answers, Sleep Foundation in 31.6% of mattress answers, and Runner's World in 26.1% of running-shoe answers.
AI platforms use different information sources. YouTube appeared in 59.6% of analyzed Google AI Overview responses for “best mattress,” demonstrating that visibility strategies cannot assume every AI platform behaves identically.
Together, these findings suggest that brands must think beyond traditional rankings and consider the broader information ecosystem influencing AI-generated answers.
How Does AI Search Volume Compare With Google Search Volume in 2026?
5W analyzed estimated monthly AI prompt volume and Google search volume for nine high-intent product queries between October 2025 and September 2026.
The selected queries span consumer products, financial services, technology, and business software.
AI Search vs. Google Search: Monthly Average Volume
| Search query | Average monthly AI prompts | Average monthly Google searches | AI volume as % of Google |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best moisturizer | 38,021 | 14,900 | 255.2% |
| Best mattress | 87,130 | 73,333 | 118.8% |
| Best car insurance | 11,675 | 24,600 | 47.5% |
| Best credit card | 28,074 | 92,125 | 30.5% |
| Best protein powder | 18,813 | 78,875 | 23.9% |
| Best running shoes | 12,901 | 54,250 | 23.8% |
| Best laptop for business | 619 | 2,950 | 21.0% |
| Best project management software | 468 | 3,567 | 13.1% |
| Best robot vacuum | 4,876 | 54,375 | 9.0% |
| All nine queries | 202,577 | 398,975 | 50.8% |
Source: 5W research. Monthly averages, October 2025–September 2026. AI figures represent the measured exact-match prompts rather than all related conversational searches.
The results show substantial differences between categories.
For “best moisturizer,” estimated AI prompt volume was more than two and a half times the corresponding Google search volume.
For “best mattress,” AI prompt volume was approximately 19% higher.
Other categories, including credit cards, insurance, and business software, continued to record substantially greater Google search volume.
The conclusion is not that AI search has overtaken Google overall. Rather, specific commercial queries are already generating comparable or greater measured activity in AI environments.
That distinction is important for marketers evaluating where consumers conduct product research.
AI Product Search Is Growing Faster Than Traditional Search Across the Measured Queries
Beyond the relative size of AI and Google search activity, 5W's research identifies differences in growth.
Across the nine selected queries:
AI prompt volume increased from 173,084 in October 2025 to 228,928 in September 2026.
That represents 32.3% growth.
Google search volume increased from 409,900 to 444,600 over the same period.
That represents 8.5% growth.
Measured AI prompt activity therefore grew approximately 3.8 times as fast as corresponding Google search activity.
Several consumer product queries showed particularly strong AI growth.
Product Categories Experiencing Rapid AI Search Growth
| Query | AI prompt growth | Google search-volume change |
|---|---|---|
| Best protein powder | +82.9% | 0% |
| Best moisturizer | +51.9% | 0% |
| Best robot vacuum | +46.2% | 0% |
| Best running shoes | +31.1% | +22.2% |
Changes compare October 2025 with September 2026. Reported Google search-volume figures may reflect rounding or the underlying data provider's reporting intervals.
The strongest increases occurred in consumer categories where shoppers often compare products, evaluate alternatives, and seek recommendations.
These are also categories where editorial reviews, product comparisons, and consumer discussions can influence purchasing decisions.
The findings suggest that AI is becoming an increasingly important additional discovery environment for brands competing in recommendation-driven markets.
However, the measured growth rates apply to the selected queries and should not be interpreted as growth rates for all AI or Google searches.
The Bigger Shift: AI Recommendations Depend on Sources Brands Don't Control
For marketers, the most significant finding may not be the growth of AI search itself.
It is the way AI platforms select and cite information when recommending products.
5W's analysis found that independent publishers, editorial review websites, and online communities frequently appeared among the most-cited sources in ChatGPT product recommendations.
In several categories, manufacturer websites were largely absent from the leading cited domains.
This creates a new visibility challenge.
A brand can have a strong website, established search rankings, and substantial marketing investment — yet still have limited representation among the sources an AI platform cites when answering a consumer's question.
Which Websites Does ChatGPT Cite Most for Product Recommendations?
| Product category | Leading cited source | Share of analyzed answers citing source |
|---|---|---|
| Mattresses | Sleep Foundation | 31.6% |
| Credit cards | NerdWallet | 34.1% |
| Running shoes | Runner's World | 26.1% |
| CRM software | 16.8% |
These results demonstrate the importance of understanding the third-party information sources that contribute to AI-generated answers.
Mattresses: Editorial Publishers Dominate Citations
Across 547 analyzed ChatGPT answers about the “best mattress”:
Sleep Foundation was cited in 31.6% of responses.
Tom's Guide appeared in 16.3%.
Saatva was the only mattress manufacturer among the 10 most-cited domains, appearing in 5.1%.
The results illustrate how prominently independent review publishers can feature in AI-generated product research.
5W's separate DTC Graveyard 2026 research also examines the role of review publishers in the direct-to-consumer mattress market.
Credit Cards: Financial Publishers Lead
Across 493 analyzed ChatGPT answers:
NerdWallet was cited in 34.1%.
Forbes appeared in 28.6%.
Reddit appeared in 9.1%.
Chase and Capital One were the only card issuers among the 10 most-cited sources.
These findings reinforce the influence of independent financial publishers in AI-generated credit card recommendations.
5W's Credit Cards AI Visibility Index 2026 provides additional research into the publishers and brands appearing in AI-generated financial product answers.
Running Shoes: Brands Are Recommended Without Their Websites Being Cited
Across 69 analyzed ChatGPT answers:
Runner's World was cited in 26.1%.
Tom's Guide appeared in 17.4%.
RTINGS and Reddit each appeared in 13.0%.
No running-shoe manufacturer appeared among the 10 most-cited domains.
However, ChatGPT still recommended products including the Nike Pegasus 41 and Hoka Clifton 10.
This distinction is important.
A brand can be recommended in an AI answer even when its own website is not cited.
Conversely, a website can be cited without its associated brand being recommended.
That is why measuring AI visibility requires more than tracking citations alone.
Brand Mentions, Recommendations, and Citations Are Different Metrics
As AI-generated answers become part of the consumer research process, brands need to distinguish three forms of visibility.
1. Brand Mentions
A brand mention occurs when an AI platform includes a company's or product's name in its response.
For example, a response comparing several mattress brands may mention a company without endorsing it.
2. Brand Recommendations
A recommendation occurs when an AI platform suggests a brand or product as a relevant choice for the user's question.
For marketers, recommendations can be particularly important when consumers are comparing products or preparing to make a purchase.
3. Source Citations
A citation occurs when an AI platform references a website, article, video, or other source supporting its answer.
The cited source may be an independent publisher, a brand website, a review platform, or a community discussion.
These metrics answer different business questions.
| AI visibility metric | What it helps brands understand |
|---|---|
| Brand mentions | Whether the brand appears in relevant AI answers |
| Brand recommendations | Whether AI suggests the brand to potential customers |
| Source citations | Which information sources AI references |
| Competitive visibility | How often a brand appears relative to competitors |
| Platform differences | How visibility changes across AI systems |
A complete AI visibility assessment should examine these signals separately rather than treating them as interchangeable.
Why Public Relations Is Becoming More Important to AI Visibility
Traditional search strategies have often emphasized improving the visibility of a company's owned website.
AI-generated answers introduce another consideration: the visibility of the brand across the wider information environment.
5W's findings show that AI platforms frequently cite sources outside a brand's direct control.
These include:
Established news and editorial publishers.
Independent product review websites.
Industry publications and expert commentary.
YouTube videos and product demonstrations.
Reddit discussions and other online communities.
This has significant implications for public relations.
Earned media, credible third-party coverage, authoritative content, and broader brand reputation can all contribute to the information environment in which AI platforms discover and evaluate companies.
The research does not establish that any individual placement guarantees an AI citation or recommendation.
It does, however, demonstrate why brands need to understand the sources appearing in AI-generated answers and how their reputations are represented across those sources.
The objective is no longer simply to rank on a search results page. Brands increasingly need to compete for inclusion in the AI-generated answer itself.
That is the central challenge behind 5W's Get Into the Chatbox positioning.
Why AI Visibility Strategies Must Differ by Industry
The research also shows that consumer and business categories do not behave identically.
For example, estimated AI prompt volume remained considerably lower than Google search volume for several financial services and B2B technology queries.
Categories Where Google Search Remains Larger
| Query | Average monthly AI prompts | Average monthly Google searches | AI as % of Google |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best car insurance | 11,675 | 24,600 | 47.5% |
| Best credit card | 28,074 | 92,125 | 30.5% |
| Best laptop for business | 619 | 2,950 | 21.0% |
| Best project management software | 468 | 3,567 | 13.1% |
These results suggest that brands should not assume AI adoption is uniform across industries.
The appropriate balance between traditional search, AI visibility, earned media, and other channels will depend on category-specific consumer behavior.
B2B Software Shows a Different Citation Pattern
In the analyzed CRM software responses, vendor-owned websites appeared more frequently among leading sources.
Across 155 ChatGPT answers:
Reddit was cited in 16.8%.
HubSpot's main website appeared in 15.5%.
HubSpot's blog appeared in 8.4%.
Zoho appeared in 8.4%.
Salesforce appeared in 8.4%.
Pipedrive appeared in 5.2%.
This contrasts with consumer categories where independent review publishers dominated the leading citations.
For B2B technology companies, authoritative owned content may therefore play a more prominent role in the AI information environment than it does for some consumer product categories.
The broader lesson is that AI visibility is category-specific, platform-specific, and dependent on the questions consumers ask.
ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews Rely on Different Sources
Brands also face another complication: AI platforms do not necessarily cite the same information sources.
5W's research identified substantial differences between ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
For the query “best mattress,” Google AI Overviews frequently cited YouTube and Google Shopping.
Across 2,153 analyzed Google AI Overview responses:
| Source | Share of responses citing source |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 59.6% |
| Google Shopping | 51.0% |
| Sleep Foundation | 42.0% |
| National Council on Aging | 35.9% |
| 30.4% |
YouTube did not appear among ChatGPT's 10 most-cited sources for the same query in the analyzed dataset.
This difference matters.
A brand that performs well in one AI environment may not have equivalent visibility in another.
For example, a product demonstration video may be prominent in Google AI Overviews while an independent written review may be more frequently cited in ChatGPT.
5W's AI Platform Citation Source Index 2026 examines differences in the information sources referenced by AI platforms.
The findings reinforce the importance of measuring visibility across multiple platforms rather than relying on a single AI engine.
Being Retrieved by AI Does Not Guarantee Being Cited
Another finding concerns the difference between information retrieval and final citations.
AI systems may retrieve information from a website while generating an answer without citing that website in the final response.
For example, 5W's research found:
| Website | Category | Background retrieval | Final citation visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Points Guy | Credit cards | Retrieved in 63 responses (12.8%) | Did not appear among the 10 most-cited domains |
| Mattress Nut | Mattresses | Retrieved in 83 searches (15.2%) | Cited in 19 responses (3.5%) |
These findings demonstrate that being discovered by an AI system is not the same as being visibly credited in its answer.
For brands, the distinction has practical implications.
A website may be accessible and relevant to AI retrieval processes without receiving prominent citations.
Similarly, a brand may appear in an AI-generated recommendation without its website being listed as a source.
Understanding these differences is essential when evaluating AI visibility performance.
What Should Brands Do Differently in 2027?
The research points toward a broader approach to marketing visibility.
Brands should continue evaluating traditional search performance while also examining how they appear in AI-generated answers.
Five priorities emerge.
1. Measure AI Visibility Alongside Traditional Search
Search rankings and website traffic remain important, but they do not provide a complete picture of brand discovery.
Companies should also assess their mentions, recommendations, citations, and competitive visibility across relevant AI platforms.
2. Understand Which Sources Influence AI Answers
Brands should identify the publishers, review websites, communities, and other sources that appear in AI-generated answers for relevant product categories.
These findings can help inform communications priorities and content planning.
3. Build Credibility Beyond Owned Websites
A strong corporate website remains valuable.
However, 5W's research shows that independent sources frequently play a prominent role in AI-generated product recommendations.
Brands should therefore consider how their expertise, products, and reputation are represented across credible third-party environments.
4. Evaluate AI Platforms Separately
ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and other AI systems may rely on different sources and present information differently.
Brands need platform-specific measurement rather than assuming that visibility in one system translates directly into visibility elsewhere.
5. Integrate Public Relations, Content, Creative, and AI Visibility
The changing discovery environment creates a stronger connection between disciplines that organizations have historically managed separately.
Public relations can help build credible third-party visibility.
Content supports clear, useful, and authoritative brand information.
Creative capabilities help brands communicate through different formats and channels.
AI visibility measurement helps companies understand where they appear, how they are represented, and where opportunities may exist.
An integrated approach can help organizations respond to the changing discovery environment without abandoning established marketing channels.
5W's Perspective: The Next Competition Is for the AI Recommendation
For decades, brands competed for consumer attention through advertising, earned media, search rankings, and digital content.
AI-powered discovery adds another competitive environment.
Consumers can now ask an AI platform which mattress to buy, which credit card to choose, or which software product best fits their business.
Instead of reviewing a traditional list of search results, they may receive a synthesized answer containing specific brand recommendations.
That changes the visibility challenge.
A company may have strong brand awareness and substantial marketing resources yet still be absent from an AI-generated recommendation.
Meanwhile, competitors may gain visibility through information published by independent sources.
5W's research demonstrates why brands must understand both what AI platforms say about them and which sources those platforms rely on.
The findings also reinforce the growing relationship between public relations, reputation, and AI discovery.
For brands, the strategic question is increasingly straightforward:
When customers ask AI what to buy, is your brand part of the answer?
Get Into the Chatbox: How 5W Helps Brands Compete for AI Visibility
5W is developing an integrated approach to AI visibility that combines public relations expertise, proprietary technology, content development, and full-service in-house creative capabilities.
The firm's ongoing research examines how brands appear across AI-generated answers, which companies receive recommendations, and which information sources are most frequently cited.
Through its AI Visibility Index studies and broader research initiatives, 5W provides insights into the changing relationship between earned media, brand reputation, and AI-powered discovery.
The goal is to help brands understand their position in this emerging environment and develop communications strategies that support greater visibility.
The next era of brand discovery is not just about being found. It is about being mentioned, cited, and recommended.
Get Into the Chatbox.
Explore 5W's AI Visibility Research
Research Methodology
This report draws on 5W research examining estimated AI prompt activity, Google search volume, and AI-generated product recommendations.
Search-volume analysis: Nine selected high-intent product queries were compared using average monthly AI prompt volume and Google search volume for October 2025 through September 2026.
The analysis focuses on measured exact-match queries. It does not represent total AI search activity, all conversational variations, or overall market share between AI search and Google.
Citation analysis: The report also incorporates category-specific studies of ChatGPT answers and Google AI Overviews, including mattress, credit card, running-shoe, and CRM software queries.
Citation percentages represent the share of analyzed responses containing the specified source. Multiple sources may appear in one response, so percentages should not be added together.
Measurement limitations: AI prompt estimates and Google search-volume figures are different measurement systems. Comparisons should be interpreted as directional indicators of relative activity for the selected queries rather than direct measures of unique users, purchase intent, or search market share.
Methodology details requiring confirmation before publication: The source and estimation method for AI prompt-volume data; included AI platforms; geographic scope; Google search-volume provider; collection dates and procedures for citation studies; and whether all figures were derived using consistent measurement definitions.
These details should be confirmed against the underlying research before the final report is published.
