Search didn't change. It moved.
37% of people now start a search inside an AI assistant instead of Google, and the share who've never touched one collapsed from 28.5% to 16% in a single year. This is where discovery happens now.
| Platform | Monthly users | Daily volume | Referral CTR | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ChatGPT OpenAI | 1B+ Fastest app to 1B MAU | 2.5B Prompts per day | 78% Of all AI referrals. 14.2% conversion rate vs Google's 2.8% | +233% MAU YoY |
Gemini Google · AI Overviews | 750M App users. AI Overviews reach 2B+ monthly | 2B+ AI Overviews served monthly | 2.4% AIO citation CTR, up 85% since Dec 2025 | +370% Market share YoY |
Perplexity AI answer engine | 45M Monthly active users | 30M Queries per day | 12-18% Citation click-through. 27% higher than standard organic | +156% Queries YoY |
Claude Anthropic | 30M Monthly active users | — Enterprise-focused | 1.4% Of AI referrals. Smallest but fastest-growing source | +386% Referral traffic QoQ |
It's not just search. It's where they buy.
Nearly half of buyers now use AI to make purchase decisions, and AI-sourced traffic converts at a rate traditional search can't touch. Every answer you're missing from is revenue going to whoever the model named instead.
The playbook is knowable.
Getting cited isn't luck. The brands AI recommends share the same signals: structured answers, the right third-party citations, and presence in the sources models trust. This is exactly what RankRush measures and moves.
Ready to get cited?
Whether you manage visibility for clients or your own brand, RankRush shows you exactly where AI mentions you and where it doesn't.
For Agencies
Add AI visibility to your client stack
Manage up to 15 client profiles from one dashboard. Show clients where they rank across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini.
For brands
See what AI says about you right now
Track your brand's visibility, citations, and mentions across every major AI platform. Know exactly where you show up and where you don't.