Snapshot 30 October 2026 · updated daily

Where in the buying journey do you get a spot in the AI answer?

Four kinds of searches, four different answers. The closer people are to buying, the more often the AI cites the companies themselves. When they search locally, lists and Google take over.

Source: a page the AI links to in an answer. Mention: a name the AI writes in the text. The AI's searches: what the AI itself searches for before it answers. All shares are of sources unless the box says otherwise.

Sources1ResearchingInformational · 13% of all queries61%of citations are first party.

Your spot: guides and explanations. Media and content matter most here.

Sources2ComparingCommercial · 58% of all queries67%of citations are first party.

Your spot: category pages and comparisons. "Best of" lists take a big bite.

Sources3BuyingTransactional · 11% of all queries79%of citations are first party.

Your spot: product and pricing pages. This is where you win or lose directly.

Sources4Searching locallyLocal/geographic · 18% of all queries48%of citations are first party.

Your spot: your Google Business profile, reviews and the local lists.

First partyLists and directoriesPrice comparison and marketplacesGoogle's own pagesMedia and videoReviews and forumsOther
The AI's searches

What the AI itself searches for, stage by stage

Share of the AI's own searches with the word class. Darker is more. Only Gemini and ChatGPT report their searches.

EvaluationPriceYearPlaceBrand1 · Researching24%33%12%33%47%2 · Comparing38%22%18%48%35%3 · Buying33%43%40%54%22%4 · Searching locally30%22%9%58%28%

What does it mean? When people are ready to buy, the AI itself adds "price" and a year to its searches. Your pricing page therefore needs the year and current prices in the text, or the AI finds another one.

The numbers may be quoted with attribution to CiteWhy.