EXIDEA Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takuma Ogawa) has released the results of an analysis of 12,940 search result URLs to clarify the characteristics of websites that are likely to be cited by AIO.

Key Findings of This Survey:

The proportion of citations within Google AI Overview (hereinafter referred to as AIO) answers was higher for third-party media than for official websites. The AIO adoption rate was 42.0% for third-party media and 35.5% for official websites.

For all search intents, including branded, purchase, comparison, and information gathering, the AIO adoption rate for third-party media surpassed that of official websites. The difference was particularly large in the information gathering and comparison phases.

In terms of median SEO ranking, official websites and third-party media were nearly equal. On the other hand, third-party media had a higher AIO adoption rate, suggesting that SEO ranking alone may not fully explain the citation trends in AIO.

Official websites alone may not be sufficient to secure exposure in AIO.

"If we build our official website properly, it should be cited by AIO."

"If our company name is searched, our official website should appear in AIO."

"If we rank high in SEO, we should be cited in AIO in the same way."

Many companies are developing their official websites based on these assumptions as they work to adapt to AIO. Official websites are the primary source of information and the medium that can publish the most accurate information about a company's products and services.

However, an analysis of 12,940 URLs from search results where AIO was displayed on Google Search revealed that third-party media were cited more frequently in AIO answers than official websites.

In this survey, the target URLs were divided into "official websites" and "third-party media," and the proportion of citations within AIO answers was compared.

As a result, the AIO adoption rate for third-party media was 42.0%, and for official websites it was 35.5%, with third-party media leading by 6.5 percentage points.

Third-party media in this context refers to media that are not official company websites, such as affiliate sites, personal blogs, and summary sites.

This press release shares four facts to consider when thinking about search exposure in the AIO era.

Survey Overview

Item

Details

Survey Target

URLs appearing in search results where AI Overview was displayed on Google Search (analyzed for content features)

Number of URLs Analyzed

12,940 (Official Websites: 2,084 / Third-Party Media: 10,856)

Site Classification

Two categories: Official Website / Third-Party Media (automatically determined by LLM)

Objective Variable

Whether the URL was cited within the AIO answer (binary classification)

Definition of AIO Adoption Rate

The proportion of URLs cited within the AIO answer among all URLs that appeared in search results where AIO was displayed.

Main Analyses

1. Comparison of AIO adoption rates by classification 2. Cross-tabulation of search intent x site classification 3. Comparison of median SEO ranking and AIO citation ranking

Data Acquisition Period

February-March 2026

Survey Organizer

EXIDEA Inc.

*This survey limits the analysis to two categories: "Official Websites" and "Third-Party Media." Media in intermediate positions, such as industry associations and agencies, were excluded.

1. In AIO, Third-Party Media Were Cited More Than Official Websites

When comparing AIO adoption rates by dividing 12,940 URLs into "official websites" and "third-party media," third-party media had a rate of 42.0% and official websites had 35.5%. The difference was 6.5 percentage points.

Figure 1: AIO Adoption Rate of Official Websites vs. Third-Party Media (n=12,940). Third-party media at 42.0% compared to official websites at 35.5%. Difference: +6.5pp

Site Classification

AIO Adoption Rate

Official Website

35.5%

Third-Party Media

42.0%

Difference (Third-Party - Official)

+6.5pp

This result indicates that "being an official website" alone is not a sufficient condition for being cited in AIO answers.

Of course, the information on official websites does not become less important. Official websites are important places for companies to disseminate accurate information.

However, within the scope of this survey, third-party media had a higher proportion of citations in AIO answers, and the results suggest that maintaining only official websites is not sufficient.

For search exposure in the AIO era, in addition to maintaining your own website, it is necessary to check how your company and products are described on third-party media.

2. Even in Branded Searches, Official Websites Are Not Always Cited

Even when search intent was divided into four phases, third-party media's AIO adoption rate surpassed that of official websites in all phases.

Site Classification

Branded

Purchase

Comparison

Information Gathering

Official Website

39.8%

48.3%

46.9%

42.3%

Third-Party Media

41.8%

49.3%

56.7%

53.7%

Difference (Third-Party - Official)

+2.0pp

+1.0pp

+9.8pp

+11.4pp

Figure 2: Cross-tabulation of Search Intent x Site Classification. The difference is particularly large in information gathering (+11.4pp) and comparison (+9.8pp).

The difference was particularly large in the information gathering and comparison phases.

In information gathering, third-party media was 53.7% and official websites were 42.3%, a difference of 11.4 percentage points. In comparison, third-party media was 56.7% and official websites were 46.9%, a difference of 9.8 percentage points.

In other words, when users are thinking about "researching" or "comparing," there was a tendency for third-party media to be cited in AIO answers.

What's more noteworthy is branded search.

Even in branded searches, third-party media was 41.8% and official websites were 39.8%, with third-party media leading by 2.0 percentage points.

In traditional SEO, searches for a company's or product's name tend to favor official websites. However, when limited to citations within AIO answers, this survey found that the adoption rate for third-party media surpassed that of official websites even in branded searches.

While the factors cannot be definitively determined from this result alone, it cannot be said that "if a company name is searched, the official website will always be cited in AIO."

3. Even with Similar SEO Rankings, the Proportion Cited in AIO Differed

Is the lower AIO adoption rate for official websites due to them being at a disadvantage in SEO ranking in the first place?

To confirm this, we compared median SEO rankings and AIO adoption rates for 7,583 cases where SEO ranking information was available.

Classification

Median SEO Rank

AIO Adoption Rate

Rank Change

Official Website

10.35th (1st)

32.6% (2nd)

↓ 1 → 2

Third-Party Media

10.76th (2nd)

38.7% (1st)

↑ 2 → 1

Figure 3: Correspondence between Median SEO Rank and AIO Citation Rank (n=7,583). The ranks for median SEO and AIO adoption rate are swapped between official websites and third-party media.

The median SEO rank was 10.35th for official websites and 10.76th for third-party media. The difference was 0.4 places, and looking only at SEO rankings, the two were nearly equal.

On the other hand, the AIO adoption rate was 32.6% for official websites and 38.7% for third-party media. In terms of AIO adoption rate, third-party media led by 6.1 percentage points.

In other words, while official websites had a slight edge in median SEO rank, third-party media had a higher AIO adoption rate.

This result suggests that whether or not a site is cited in AIO answers cannot be fully explained by traditional SEO rankings alone.

While there is overlap, "ranking high in SEO" and "being cited in AIO answers" should not be treated as the same thing.

4. Official Websites Alone May Lack Comparative and Explanatory Information

This survey is a correlational analysis and does not definitively determine why the difference between official websites and third-party media occurred.

However, the higher adoption rate of third-party media in AIO answers may be related to the following differences:

Official websites tend to focus on information the company wants to convey.

Official websites are often structured around information the company wants to convey, such as product introductions, service descriptions, and corporate information.

On the other hand, third-party media may organize information that users want to know, such as comparisons, explanations, how-to guides, and pros and cons.

Information cited in AIO answers may refer to such explanations and comparative information.

Official websites may lack content for researchers.

Official websites tend to focus on pages for sales promotion and branding.

Therefore, they may lack content for users to gather information and make comparisons, such as comprehensive explanations, comparison tables, statistical data, and selection guides.

While this survey alone cannot determine causality, considering the higher AIO adoption rate for third-party media in the information gathering and comparison phases, there is room for official websites to develop more informative content.

AIO is not a system that only cites official websites.

Google explains that AIO presents information from a variety of sources. While official websites are important as primary information, the sources cited in AIO answers are not limited to official websites.

This survey also found that the AIO adoption rate for third-party media surpassed that of official websites.

Overseas SEO analyses and reports are also drawing attention to the citation of third-party media and UGC sites in AIO. This survey quantitatively compares the AIO adoption rates of official websites and third-party media for Japanese searches.

Four Actions to Confirm Starting Today:

When considering search exposure in the AIO era, it is important to check not only the SEO ranking of your official website but also what is being cited in AIO answers.

First, please check the following four points:

1. When searching for your company name, see what is cited by AIO.

When searching for your company name or product name, check if your official website is cited within the AIO answer.

In this survey, the AIO adoption rate for official websites was 35.5%. "Just because you have an official website doesn't mean it's okay."

If your official website is not cited, you should also check which third-party media are cited in the AIO answer.

2. Check how your company and products are described on third-party media.

The AIO adoption rate for third-party media was 42.0%.

In addition to refining your official website, check how your company and products are described on third-party media. If the information is outdated, incorrect, or the comparison criteria are insufficient, it may affect how it appears in AIO answers.

It is important to design exposure through third-party media as a separate touchpoint from your official website.

3. Increase information such as comparisons, explanations, and FAQs on your official website.

Product introduction pages alone may not be sufficient to meet the search intent for information gathering and comparison.

On your official website, prepare content that organizes information for users to make decisions, such as comprehensive explanations, comparisons, selection guides, statistical data, and FAQs.

While this does not guarantee citation by AIO, it is important to develop your official website as a place for information provision, not just a sales promotion page.

4. Regularly check AIO citation sources, even for branded searches.

In this survey, the AIO adoption rate for third-party media surpassed that of official websites even in branded searches.

When your company name or product name is searched, regularly check which URLs are cited in the AIO answer.

Instead of thinking "because it's a branded search, the official website should appear," it is necessary to actually see what is cited in the AIO answer.

EmmaTools Supports Content Improvement with an Eye on Visibility in AIO.

This survey indicated that the trend of URLs cited in AIO answers cannot be fully explained by traditional SEO rankings alone.

In particular, when comparing official websites and third-party media, the AIO adoption rate for third-party media surpassed that of official websites.

In the AIO era, search exposure requires checking not only your own website but also how information is organized on third-party media.

As a tool to support SEO content creation and improvement, EmmaTools assists in content design based on search intent and creating article structures with an eye on potential citation by AI.

"I don't know how my brand appears on AIO."

"In comparison searches, competitors appear but my company doesn't."

"I'm not sure where to start with SEO in the AIO era."

If you have such challenges, please contact EmmaTools.

Inquiries

Inquiries and requests for materials regarding EmmaTools can be made here.

- EmmaTools Service Site: https://emma.tools

- EXIDEA Inc. Inquiries: https://exidea.co.jp/contact

Features of Survey Methodology

Aspect

Features of This Survey

Scale of Analysis

Large-scale survey analyzing 12,940 URLs for Japanese searches.

Site Type Determination

LLM (gpt-5-nano) evaluates URLs and content to automatically classify them as Official Website / Third-Party Media.

AIO Citation Determination

Binary determination of whether a URL appears as a citation source within an AIO answer.

Connection with SEO Rankings

Calculates the median rank for each URL from search ranking data and correlates it with AIO citation rank.

Decomposition of Search Intent

Cross-tabulation divided into four phases: Branded / Purchase / Comparison / Information Gathering.

<Notes>

This analysis is a correlational analysis, not causal inference. It does not mean "citation becomes easier if you abandon your official website," but rather "within the scope of this survey, the AIO adoption rate for third-party media was higher than that of official websites."

For simplification in this release, the site classification is limited to two categories: "Official Website" and "Third-Party Media." Media in intermediate positions, such as industry associations and agencies, were excluded.

Due to automatic classification by LLM, there may be some errors in site type determination.

SEO rankings are median values within the range of available search ranking data (primarily 1st to 30th place); sites ranked lower than this were excluded from the analysis.

This survey targets Japanese searches, and trends may differ in other languages.

As AIO answer content changes constantly, conclusions may also vary depending on the time period.

AIO adoption rate refers to the proportion of URLs cited within the AIO answer among all URLs that appeared in search results where AIO was displayed.

References to overseas research and cases are based on publicly available surveys and reports.

Company Profile

Company Name: EXIDEA Inc. (https://exidea.co.jp)

Location: 4F, KDX Ginza 1-chome Building, 1-20-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061

Representative: Takuma Ogawa

Established: May 2013

Capital: 15 million yen

Number of Employees: 76 (consolidated) *As of the end of May 2026

Business Activities: BtoB branding support, BtoB marketing support, video production/video marketing, marketing tool development and provision, SEO consulting, web media operation.

EXIDEA supports new corporate growth through "Category Design," which fuses creativity and digital marketing. Along with providing proprietary marketing tools equipped with AI functions, we provide consistent support from business strategy formulation to execution and improvement.

All-in-one SEO tool with AI function EmmaTools | https://emma.tools

BtoB Branding W/A | https://wa-concept.net

BtoB Marketing 180° | https://exidea.co.jp/180

Video Marketing CINEMATO | https://cine-mato.com

Comprehensive Comparison Media HonNe | https://exidea.co.jp/blog

JET-Robotics (Robot Introduction Support Platform) | https://jet-mfg.com

WiMAX Comparison.com | https://xn--wimax-lu8k074r.com

Inquiries Regarding This Matter

EXIDEA Inc. Category Growth Division, Public Relations Department

E-mail: pr@exidea.co.jp

TEL: 03-5579-9934 (Reception hours: Weekdays 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM)

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Survey結果
  • Organizations: Google