Original Research

Aeranko AEO Index
Q1 2026

We analyzed 500+ domains across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. The average AI visibility score is 34 out of 100. Most brands are invisible in AI search — and don't know it.

Published April 2026. Data from Aeranko audits conducted January-March 2026.

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Key Findings

34/100

Average AI visibility score

Across 500+ domains audited in Q1 2026. Most brands are largely invisible to AI search engines.

11%

Cross-platform citation rate

Only 11% of domains are cited by both ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews for the same query. Platform-specific optimization is essential.

73%

Have zero schema markup

Nearly three-quarters of audited sites have no JSON-LD structured data — the easiest quick win for AI visibility.

Visibility by Platform

Each AI platform selects sources differently. Google AI Overviews has the highest citation rate because it draws from existing Google rankings. Gemini is the hardest to crack due to its reliance on the Google Knowledge Graph.

Platform	Avg Score	Citation Rate	Top Signal
ChatGPT	38	28%	Bing indexation + news backlinks
Perplexity	31	22%	Reddit mentions + fresh content
Google AI Overviews	41	35%	Top-10 Google ranking
Gemini	27	18%	YouTube presence + Google ecosystem

Visibility by Industry

B2B SaaS leads in AI visibility due to higher investment in structured content and comparison pages. Local services lag significantly — most have no schema markup or AI-optimized content.

Industry	Avg Score	Strongest Platform	Weakest Platform
B2B SaaS	42	ChatGPT	Gemini
E-commerce	35	Google AI Overviews	Perplexity
Fintech	38	Perplexity	Gemini
Marketing/Agencies	31	ChatGPT	Gemini
Healthcare	25	Google AI Overviews	ChatGPT
Local Services	22	Google AI Overviews	Perplexity

Highest-Impact Quick Wins

Based on before/after data from brands that implemented Aeranko recommendations. These changes had the fastest measurable impact on AI visibility scores.

Add Organization + FAQPage schema

+12 points1 day

Create llms.txt file

+5 points30 min

+8 points (ChatGPT)15 min

Allow all AI crawlers in robots.txt

+4 points10 min

Add definition-first paragraphs

+10 points2-4 hours

Where does your brand stand?

The average score is 34/100. Run a free audit to see yours.

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