Trends

AI search trends: Q1 2026

Which platforms are growing fastest, which query types drive the most brand mentions, and what changed this quarter.

8 min readMarch 25, 2026

Platform growth: the big picture

Q1 2026 continued the trend of rapid AI search adoption, but the distribution of growth across platforms is shifting in interesting ways. ChatGPT remains the dominant conversational AI platform with an estimated 280 million weekly active users, up 18% from Q4 2025. However, its growth rate is decelerating — the 18% quarter-over-quarter gain compares to 25% in Q3 and 22% in Q4 of last year. Market leadership is firmly established, but the era of explosive ChatGPT growth may be leveling off.

Perplexity is the standout growth story of Q1. Monthly query volume grew an estimated 45% quarter-over-quarter, making it the fastest-growing AI search platform by usage growth rate. What's driving this is a shift in user behavior: Perplexity is increasingly being used as a primary research tool rather than a novelty. Its explicit source citations and research-focused interface resonate with users who want verifiable answers, and enterprise adoption has accelerated significantly.

Claude has been steadily gaining ground, with an estimated 22% increase in search-oriented queries in Q1. The introduction of Claude Search — Claude's web search capability — has expanded its relevance for brand visibility tracking. Claude's user base skews toward professional and technical users, which makes it particularly important for B2B brands.

Gemini's growth is harder to isolate because it's deeply integrated into Google's ecosystem. Google AI Overviews now appear on an estimated 30-35% of search results pages, up from roughly 22% at the end of 2025. This integration makes Gemini the AI platform with the broadest reach by raw exposure, even if many users don't think of it as a separate product.

Query pattern shifts in Q1

The way people phrase queries to AI platforms has evolved significantly. Average query length increased by approximately 12% in Q1, from an average of 11.3 words in Q4 2025 to 12.7 words in Q1 2026. Users are getting more sophisticated in how they interact with AI, and longer queries tend to produce more specific — and more brand-rich — responses.

Comparison queries ("X vs Y" or "best X for Y") grew 35% in Q1 and continue to be the query type most likely to trigger brand mentions. When a user asks an AI to compare options or recommend the best solution, the platform has no choice but to name specific brands. For companies tracking AI visibility, comparison queries remain the highest-value query type to monitor.

A notable emerging trend is the growth of "decision support" queries — multi-part questions like "I'm a small business with 15 employees looking for an accounting tool that integrates with Shopify. What are my best options?" These hyper-specific queries grew an estimated 40% in Q1 and represent a shift from information-seeking to purchase-intent behavior. Brands that perform well on these queries are capturing users at the bottom of the funnel.

Local and product queries are also growing rapidly in AI search. "Best [service] near me" and product-specific queries ("best running shoes for flat feet under $150") grew approximately 28% in Q1. As AI assistants become more capable of understanding context and providing personalized recommendations, these query types will become increasingly important for brand visibility.

Industry spotlight: where AI search matters most

Not all industries are equally affected by AI search, and Q1 data highlights where the impact is most concentrated. Technology and SaaS remain the most active category, with the highest volume of brand-mentioning AI queries. Software comparison queries alone account for an estimated 15% of all brand-related AI search activity.

Financial services saw the largest quarter-over-quarter increase in AI search brand mentions, up approximately 55%. This reflects growing consumer comfort with asking AI for financial guidance — from "best savings accounts" to "how to choose a financial advisor." Regulatory considerations make this a complex space for AI platforms, but the trend is unmistakable.

Healthcare and wellness queries grew approximately 30% in Q1, though AI platforms remain cautious about making specific brand recommendations in this space. When they do mention brands, it's typically in the context of well-established products or services with strong third-party validation.

E-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands are seeing a rapid increase in AI-driven product discovery. An estimated 20% of product research queries now involve an AI platform at some point in the journey, up from roughly 12% a year ago. Brands with strong review profiles and clear product differentiation are capturing the lion's share of these mentions.

What changed this quarter

Several developments in Q1 changed the AI visibility landscape. OpenAI's continued model updates have made ChatGPT more willing to cite specific sources and provide more nuanced brand comparisons. Older versions of GPT tended to give vaguer, less brand-specific answers. The current generation is noticeably more comfortable naming names.

Perplexity launched enhanced enterprise features and API access, accelerating its adoption as a business research tool. For brands, this means Perplexity visibility is now a factor not just in consumer research but in B2B purchase decisions. Enterprise users conducting vendor evaluations through Perplexity are seeing brand mentions that directly influence procurement.

Google expanded AI Overviews to more query types, including transactional and navigational queries that previously didn't trigger AI-generated content. This expansion means more queries now have an AI-mediated brand mention opportunity, increasing both the importance and the complexity of tracking AI visibility across Google.

Perhaps most significantly, user behavior research published in Q1 shows that approximately 40% of users who receive a brand recommendation from an AI platform conduct a follow-up branded search — they Google the recommended brand by name. This validates the hypothesis that AI mentions drive downstream search behavior, even if they don't directly drive clicks.

What to expect in Q2 2026

Based on Q1 trajectories, several trends are likely to accelerate in Q2. Perplexity's growth rate shows no signs of slowing, and if current trends hold, it could surpass Claude in total brand-mentioning queries by the end of Q2. For brands, this makes Perplexity optimization increasingly non-optional.

Google is expected to continue expanding AI Overviews, potentially reaching 40-45% of search results pages by mid-year. This will make AI visibility within Google's own ecosystem the single largest source of AI-mediated brand impressions — a development that further blurs the line between traditional SEO and AI optimization.

We expect comparison and decision-support queries to continue growing at 30-40% quarterly rates. Brands that have already invested in clear positioning, strong third-party coverage, and structured content will benefit disproportionately. Brands that haven't started optimizing for AI visibility will find the competitive gap widening.

For brands tracking their AI visibility, Q2 is a critical window. The competitive landscape is still forming, and early movers have a meaningful advantage. By the second half of 2026, AI search optimization will be a standard part of digital marketing — but the brands that started in Q1 and Q2 will have six months of data, optimization learnings, and compounding authority that latecomers will struggle to match.

Tip: The brands seeing the fastest AI visibility growth in Q1 share three traits: they publish regularly (at least weekly), they have strong third-party review profiles, and they track and respond to their AI visibility data actively. Consistency beats intensity.

Platform guide