SaaS Ranked 2nd in Google Search Volume Ranks 6th in AI Recommendations — Survey of 31 Companies and 270 Trials
A survey reveals a significant gap between Google search volume and AI recommendation rankings. AI tends to prioritize third-party media over official websites for citations, highlighting the need for a new 'AI SEO' strategy.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 22:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 13:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 14:08 (36 min after Collected)
A visual representation showing the discrepancy between Google search rankings and AI recommendation rankings is a key takeaway of this survey.
'Comparative consideration' by generative AI is becoming the entry point for B2B purchasing. When users ask AI for 'recommended sales support tools for B2B,' a few brand names appear, while others are excluded from the user's consideration set.
'I tried asking AI about my company, but it recommended competitors for some reason,' or 'Direct search volume hasn't decreased, but the way inquiries come in has changed.' These observations are starting to be shared among B2B marketers. To verify how AI actually handles brand mentions, this survey was conducted.
Kenta Ishida, a certified partner of StockSun Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku, Tokyo), conducted a repetitive measurement survey on 31 major sales and marketing SaaS companies. The study involved three models—ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity—applying 30 types of user-assumed questions three times each (totaling 270 trials). Approximately 4,000 cited URLs from AI responses were collected and cross-referenced with Google's direct search volume and backlink-related metrics obtained from third-party SEO tools.
The survey found that while there is a general positive correlation between Google search volume and frequency of appearance in AI answers, several 'ranking discrepancies' were observed individually. Furthermore, it became clear that the majority of URLs cited by AI are third-party media (industry media, comparison sites, news, videos, etc.) rather than official company websites. Details are provided in the main text.
### Survey Summary
1. Several cases were observed where brands at the top of their category in Google search were ranked in the middle or lower in AI responses.
2. Of the 31 companies surveyed, approximately 30% were not recommended a single time across all three models.
3. For many brands, the URLs cited by AI were predominantly third-party media rather than official websites.
4. The citation rate of official domains varies significantly by brand, with some effectively using owned media while others are rarely cited.
5. The correlation between AI visibility and the 'diversity of media types' was observed to be relatively stronger than the correlation with individual SEO metrics like backlink evaluations.
### Discrepancy Between Google Search and AI Recommendations
Overall, brands with higher Google search volume tended to appear more often in AI responses. However, individual cases revealed significant gaps:
- A brand ranking 2nd in search volume ranked 6th in AI recommendations.
- A brand ranking 17th in search volume ranked 3rd in AI recommendations.
This indicates that traditional SEO investment alone may not guarantee exposure in AI-driven answers.
### AI Cites Third-Party Media Over Official Sites
Analysis of cited URLs in AI responses showed that official domains often represent only a fraction of citations. Instead, industry media, comparison sites, news, and videos dominate.
### Diversity of Media Categories and AI Exposure
The survey categorized cited URLs into industry media, comparison sites, news, videos, and personal blogs. It was found that brands mentioned across a wider variety of categories tended to have higher exposure in AI answers.
### Three Expected Business Risks
Risk 1: Not measuring your brand's appearance in AI responses. If you only manage exposure through SEO rankings, you may fail to notice how you are treated in AI answers.
'Comparative consideration' by generative AI is becoming the entry point for B2B purchasing. When users ask AI for 'recommended sales support tools for B2B,' a few brand names appear, while others are excluded from the user's consideration set.
'I tried asking AI about my company, but it recommended competitors for some reason,' or 'Direct search volume hasn't decreased, but the way inquiries come in has changed.' These observations are starting to be shared among B2B marketers. To verify how AI actually handles brand mentions, this survey was conducted.
Kenta Ishida, a certified partner of StockSun Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku, Tokyo), conducted a repetitive measurement survey on 31 major sales and marketing SaaS companies. The study involved three models—ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity—applying 30 types of user-assumed questions three times each (totaling 270 trials). Approximately 4,000 cited URLs from AI responses were collected and cross-referenced with Google's direct search volume and backlink-related metrics obtained from third-party SEO tools.
The survey found that while there is a general positive correlation between Google search volume and frequency of appearance in AI answers, several 'ranking discrepancies' were observed individually. Furthermore, it became clear that the majority of URLs cited by AI are third-party media (industry media, comparison sites, news, videos, etc.) rather than official company websites. Details are provided in the main text.
### Survey Summary
1. Several cases were observed where brands at the top of their category in Google search were ranked in the middle or lower in AI responses.
2. Of the 31 companies surveyed, approximately 30% were not recommended a single time across all three models.
3. For many brands, the URLs cited by AI were predominantly third-party media rather than official websites.
4. The citation rate of official domains varies significantly by brand, with some effectively using owned media while others are rarely cited.
5. The correlation between AI visibility and the 'diversity of media types' was observed to be relatively stronger than the correlation with individual SEO metrics like backlink evaluations.
### Discrepancy Between Google Search and AI Recommendations
Overall, brands with higher Google search volume tended to appear more often in AI responses. However, individual cases revealed significant gaps:
- A brand ranking 2nd in search volume ranked 6th in AI recommendations.
- A brand ranking 17th in search volume ranked 3rd in AI recommendations.
This indicates that traditional SEO investment alone may not guarantee exposure in AI-driven answers.
### AI Cites Third-Party Media Over Official Sites
Analysis of cited URLs in AI responses showed that official domains often represent only a fraction of citations. Instead, industry media, comparison sites, news, and videos dominate.
### Diversity of Media Categories and AI Exposure
The survey categorized cited URLs into industry media, comparison sites, news, videos, and personal blogs. It was found that brands mentioned across a wider variety of categories tended to have higher exposure in AI answers.
### Three Expected Business Risks
Risk 1: Not measuring your brand's appearance in AI responses. If you only manage exposure through SEO rankings, you may fail to notice how you are treated in AI answers.