AEO and AI search statistics for B2B SaaS
This page collects 61 statistics about AI search from 18 original publishers. Each number links to the page that first published it, so you can check it and cite it with confidence.
Key numbers
AI search adoption
More than 1 billion
In September 2026, OpenAI reported that its products reached more than one billion weekly active users.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
More than 1 billion
In July 2026, Google reported that AI Mode had surpassed one billion monthly active users following its global expansion the previous October.
Clicks and traffic
8%
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 browsing study of 900 adults, visits to Google results with an AI summary produced a traditional-result click 8% of the time.
B2B buyer behaviour
79%
G2’s 2025 global survey of 1,100 B2B decision-makers found that 79% of software buyers said AI search had changed how they conducted research.
Citations and sources
84%
Muck Rack’s May 2026 study of more than 25 million links from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini responses across 17 industries found that earned media accounted for 84% of AI citations.
AI crawlers and technical
38,000:1
In July 2025, Cloudflare reported that Anthropic crawled 38,000 pages for every referred page visit.
AI search adoption statistics
1 billion
In its October 2026 earnings remarks, Google reported that the Gemini app had reached one billion users.
Gemini represents a substantial audience for monitoring brand visibility.
Source: Google, Q3 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO · 28 October 2026
More than 1 billion
In September 2026, OpenAI reported that its products reached more than one billion weekly active users.
The scale of adoption makes AI discovery relevant to SaaS channel planning.
Source: OpenAI, The Work Now Within Reach · 8 September 2026
Tripling
In July 2026, Google reported that daily active users of the Gemini app had tripled in the last year.
Growing repeat usage supports monitoring how SaaS brands appear in Gemini.
Source: Google, Q2 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO · 22 July 2026
34%
In Pew Research Center’s February 24–March 2, 2025 survey, 34% of adults in one national survey reported ever using ChatGPT.
Survey adoption provides context for potential buyer familiarity with chatbots.
Source: Pew Research Center, Short read on how many adults have used ChatGPT · 25 June 2025
58%
In Pew Research Center’s February 24–March 2, 2025 survey, 58% of adults under 30 in one national survey reported having used ChatGPT.
Age differences can inform audience-specific discovery research.
Source: Pew Research Center, Short read on how many adults have used ChatGPT · 25 June 2025
28%
In Pew Research Center’s February 24–March 2, 2025 survey, 28% of employed adults in one national survey said they used ChatGPT for work.
Workplace chatbot use makes business-oriented answer visibility worth evaluating.
Source: Pew Research Center, Short read on how many adults have used ChatGPT · 25 June 2025
26%
In Pew Research Center’s February 24–March 2, 2025 survey, 26% of adults in one national survey reported using ChatGPT to learn something new.
Educational SaaS content may address questions people bring to chatbots.
Source: Pew Research Center, Short read on how many adults have used ChatGPT · 25 June 2025
45%
In Pew Research Center’s February 24–March 2, 2025 survey, 45% of employed adults with a postgraduate degree in one national survey reported using ChatGPT for work.
Professional audience research should account for chatbot use at work.
Source: Pew Research Center, Short read on how many adults have used ChatGPT · 25 June 2025
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode statistics
3 times
In October 2026, Google reported that queries in AI Mode were on average three times longer than traditional searches.
Longer queries favor content that addresses detailed buyer questions.
Source: Google, Q3 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO · 28 October 2026
1 in 5
In October 2026, Google reported that one in five AI Mode searches globally used voice, images, or documents.
Multimodal discovery makes clear supporting assets relevant to content planning.
Source: Google, Q3 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO · 28 October 2026
More than 1 billion
In July 2026, Google reported that AI Mode had surpassed one billion monthly active users following its global expansion the previous October.
AI Mode warrants a distinct place in SaaS search visibility monitoring.
Source: Google, Q2 2026 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO · 22 July 2026
15.69%
In November 2025, AI Overviews appeared for 15.69% of keywords in Semrush’s study of more than ten million keywords.
Measured prevalence helps marketers judge the scope of AI Overview exposure.
Source: Semrush, Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift · 15 December 2025
57.1%
In October 2025, informational queries represented 57.1% of queries triggering AI Overviews in Semrush’s study.
AI Overview planning should extend beyond educational content.
Source: Semrush, Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift · 15 December 2025
18.57%
In its December 2025 update, Semrush reported that commercial queries accounted for 18.57% of keywords triggering AI Overviews in its intent analysis.
The intent mix helps prioritize which SaaS content to monitor for AI visibility.
Source: Semrush, Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift · 15 December 2025
13.94%
In its December 2025 update, Semrush reported that transactional queries accounted for 13.94% of keywords triggering AI Overviews in its intent analysis.
The intent mix helps prioritize which SaaS content to monitor for AI visibility.
Source: Semrush, Semrush AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us About Google’s Search Shift · 15 December 2025
Clicks and traffic statistics
2.4%
Seer Interactive’s April 2026 study found that organic CTR on AI Overview-present queries rose from 1.3% in December 2025 to 2.4% in February 2026.
Current channel planning should account for changing rather than uniformly declining click rates.
Source: Seer Interactive, AIO Impact on Google CTR: 2026 Update · 24 April 2026
120%
Seer Interactive’s April 2026 analysis reported 120% more organic clicks per impression for informational queries when a brand was cited in an AI Overview than when it was not cited.
This association does not establish that citation caused the uplift.
Source: Seer Interactive, AIO Impact on Google CTR: 2026 Update · 24 April 2026
58%
Ahrefs’ February 2026 study of 300,000 keywords found that AI Overview presence correlated with a 58% lower average desktop click-through rate for the top-ranking page using December 2025 data.
Top organic rankings alone may not preserve acquisition traffic.
Source: Ahrefs, Update: AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58% · 4 February 2026
nearly 69%
Similarweb’s AI citation-analysis guide states that nearly 69% of Google queries were zero-click in July 2025, but the guide does not specify the measurement scope.
The linked guide does not establish geography, device coverage or denominator methodology, so this figure should not be treated as a verified global rate or evidence that AI Overviews caused it.
Source: Similarweb, How to Perform AI Citation Analysis: Guide, Examples, And Free Template · 12 November 2025
8%
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 browsing study of 900 adults, visits to Google results with an AI summary produced a traditional-result click 8% of the time.
This analysis used March 2025 browsing data from 900 adults in one national sample, with search results collected April 7–17, 2025. Organic visibility does not necessarily translate into website visits.
Source: Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results · 22 July 2025
1%
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 browsing study of 900 adults, users clicked a link inside an AI summary in just 1% of visits to pages with a summary.
Search results were collected April 7–17, 2025 and matched to March browsing data from one national sample. Citation visibility should be measured separately from referral traffic.
Source: Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results · 22 July 2025
26%
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 browsing study of 900 adults, browsing sessions ended after 26% of Google result pages with an AI summary, versus 16% without one.
Search results were collected April 7–17, 2025 and matched to March browsing data from one national sample. Search content may influence buyers without generating a subsequent visit.
Source: Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results · 22 July 2025
23x
In its June 2025 analysis of its own website, Ahrefs reported that AI search visitors converted at a 23x higher rate than traditional organic search visitors.
Referral quality should be evaluated alongside volume without assuming another company’s conversion rate will generalize.
Source: Ahrefs, Does AI Search Traffic Convert Better Than Traditional Search? For Ahrefs, Yes: 0.5% of Visitors Drove 12.1% of Signups · 16 June 2025
15.49%
Amsive’s April 2025 analysis of 700K keywords across ten websites focused on 10K already-ranking keywords that triggered AI Overviews and reported an average CTR decline of 15.49% for AIO-triggering keywords.
Keyword performance reviews should separate queries with AI Overviews from those without them.
Source: Amsive, Google AI Overviews: New CTR Study Reveals How to Navigate Negative SERP Impact · 16 April 2025
25%
In February 2024, Gartner predicted that traditional search engine volume would decline 25% by 2026 as AI chatbots and other virtual agents gained share.
This forecast supports scenario planning rather than serving as evidence of an observed decline.
Source: Gartner, Gartner Predicts Search Engine Volume Will Drop 25% by 2026, Due to AI Chatbots and Other Virtual Agents · 19 February 2024
B2B buyer behaviour statistics
95%
6sense’s 2025 global Buyer Experience Report found that the winning vendor was already on the Day One shortlist 95% of the time.
Being discoverable before sales engagement can help a vendor enter the initial consideration set.
Source: 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report · November 2025
61%
6sense’s 2025 global Buyer Experience Report placed first seller contact at 61% of the buying journey, compared with 69% previously.
Marketers still need to support substantial research before direct seller engagement.
Source: 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report · November 2025
80%
In Omniscient Digital’s September 2025 Wynter survey of 100 B2B SaaS leaders, 80% validated LLM outputs against brand websites.
Clear vendor documentation can help buyers verify AI-generated claims.
Source: Omniscient Digital / Wynter, From Prompt to Purchase: How B2B decision-makers buy in the LLM era · 20 October 2025
37%
In Omniscient Digital’s September 2025 Wynter survey of 100 B2B SaaS leaders, 37% said they stopped using AI after the early research phase.
AI discovery should be supported by credible evaluation content for later buying stages.
Source: Omniscient Digital / Wynter, From Prompt to Purchase: How B2B decision-makers buy in the LLM era · 20 October 2025
61%
Gartner’s June 2025 release reported that 61% of B2B buyers preferred an overall rep-free buying experience, based on a survey of 632 buyers conducted in August–September 2024.
Self-service product information helps buyers research without an initial sales conversation.
Source: Gartner, Gartner Sales Survey Finds 61% of B2B Buyers Prefer a Rep-Free Buying Experience · 25 June 2025
79%
G2’s 2025 global survey of 1,100 B2B decision-makers found that 79% of software buyers said AI search had changed how they conducted research.
Software discovery content needs to work in AI-assisted research journeys.
Source: G2, CMOs 2025 Buyer Behavior Report | Research G2 · June 2025
17.1%
G2’s 2025 Buyer Behavior Report identified generative AI chatbots as the leading source influencing vendor shortlists, at 17.1%.
AI visibility can matter before a prospective buyer contacts a vendor.
Source: G2, CMOs 2025 Buyer Behavior Report | Research G2 · June 2025
55%
In G2’s 2025 Buyer Behavior Report, 55% of buyers at companies with 1,000–5,000 employees identified AI search among their top software research sources.
Enterprise-focused SaaS marketers should consider AI search alongside review platforms.
Source: G2, CMOs 2025 Buyer Behavior Report | Research G2 · June 2025
72%
TrustRadius’ April 2025 buyer research reported that 72% of buyers encountered Google AI Overviews in search.
AI Overview exposure can affect product discovery even among buyers who do not use standalone chatbots.
Source: TrustRadius, Bridging the Trust Gap: B2B Tech Buying in the Age of AI · 7 April 2025
7%
TrustRadius’ April 2025 buyer research reported that 7% of buyers used LLMs such as ChatGPT as part of their buying process.
Standalone chatbot usage should be distinguished from exposure to AI features in conventional search.
Source: TrustRadius, Bridging the Trust Gap: B2B Tech Buying in the Age of AI · 7 April 2025
89%
Forrester’s November 2024 report stated that 89% of B2B buyers had adopted generative AI, based on its 2024 Buyers’ Journey Survey.
The public summary supports the number, but detailed sampling and geography are behind access controls. It should not be assumed to represent every B2B buyer globally.
Source: Forrester, B2B Buyer Adoption Of Generative AI · 20 November 2024
Citations and sources statistics
84%
Muck Rack’s May 2026 study of more than 25 million links from ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini responses across 17 industries found that earned media accounted for 84% of AI citations.
Here, earned media includes journalism, academic research, government and NGO sources, encyclopedic sites, social platforms and third-party corporate content, not just press coverage.
Source: Muck Rack, What Is AI Reading? May 2026 · May 2026
27%
Muck Rack’s May 2026 study of more than 25 million links across 17 industries found that journalism made up 27% of cited sources in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini responses.
Relevant editorial coverage can supply third-party evidence for AI answers.
Source: Muck Rack, What Is AI Reading? May 2026 · May 2026
0.3%
Muck Rack’s May 2026 study of more than 25 million links across 17 industries found that paid and advertorial content accounted for 0.3% of AI citations.
Paid placements should not be assumed to produce the same citation exposure as earned coverage.
Source: Muck Rack, What Is AI Reading? May 2026 · May 2026
85.4%
Profound’s February 2026 study found that individual videos received 85.4% of YouTube citations in its October–December 2025 ChatGPT sample, which covered one national English-language market.
Specific educational videos may be more useful citation targets than a channel homepage.
Source: Profound, How ChatGPT cites social media · 9 February 2026
around 10%
Semrush’s November 2025 study found that ChatGPT cited Reddit in around 10% of prompt responses by mid-September 2025, down from close to 60% in early August.
Citation strategies should account for platform-level changes in source selection.
Source: Semrush, The Most-Cited Domains in AI: A 3-Month Study · 10 November 2025
less than 20%
Semrush’s November 2025 study reported that Wikipedia’s appearance in ChatGPT prompt responses fell from roughly 55% to less than 20% during its August–October 2025 observation period.
A domain’s historical citation dominance does not guarantee continuing exposure.
Source: Semrush, The Most-Cited Domains in AI: A 3-Month Study · 10 November 2025
15%
In Pew Research Center’s March 2025 browsing study of 900 adults, Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit collectively accounted for 15% of sources listed in Google AI summaries.
Search results were collected April 7–17, 2025 and matched to March browsing data from one national sample. Third-party platforms can be relevant surfaces for a SaaS brand’s discoverability.
Source: Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results · 22 July 2025
0.664
Ahrefs’ May 2025 analysis of 75,000 brands found a Spearman correlation of 0.664 between brand web mentions and AI Overview brand visibility.
Off-site brand presence is worth monitoring, although correlation does not establish causation.
Source: Ahrefs, An Analysis of AI Overview Brand Visibility Factors (75K Brands Studied) · 26 May 2025
0.218
Ahrefs’ May 2025 analysis of 75,000 brands reported a correlation of 0.218 between backlinks and AI Overview brand visibility.
Backlink metrics alone may not explain a SaaS brand’s AI visibility.
Source: Ahrefs, An Analysis of AI Overview Brand Visibility Factors (75K Brands Studied) · 26 May 2025
AI crawlers and technical statistics
38,000:1
In July 2025, Cloudflare reported that Anthropic crawled 38,000 pages for every referred page visit.
Crawler activity should be evaluated separately from the human traffic it generates.
Source: Cloudflare, The crawl-to-click gap: Cloudflare data on AI bots, training, and referrals · 29 August 2025
194.8:1
In July 2025, Cloudflare measured 194.8 crawls per referred visit for Perplexity across its observed network.
Crawler activity should be evaluated separately from the human traffic it generates.
Source: Cloudflare, The crawl-to-click gap: Cloudflare data on AI bots, training, and referrals · 29 August 2025
569 million
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, GPTBot generated 569 million requests across Vercel’s network.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
370 million
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, Anthropic’s Claude crawler generated 370 million requests across Vercel’s network.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
24.4 million
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, PerplexityBot generated 24.4 million fetches across Vercel’s network.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
34.82%
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, ChatGPT crawler fetches hit 404 pages 34.82% of the time in Vercel’s analysis.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
34.16%
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, Claude crawler fetches hit 404 pages 34.16% of the time in Vercel’s analysis.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
11.50%
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, JavaScript files represented 11.50% of ChatGPT crawler requests in Vercel’s analysis.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
23.84%
In the month preceding Vercel’s December 17, 2024 report, JavaScript files represented 23.84% of Claude crawler requests in Vercel’s analysis.
Technical crawl monitoring can reveal retrieval barriers that content changes alone will not solve.
Source: Vercel, The rise of the AI crawler · 17 December 2024
How did we choose these numbers?
We only include a statistic when we can open the original page and read the exact number on it. We do not copy numbers from statistics roundups, because those often repeat old or misquoted figures. When a platform publishes a newer figure, we replace the older one rather than keep both.
Each statement keeps the scope of the original study, including who was surveyed and when. If you would like to know what these numbers mean for your own product, our free audit shows where AI tools mention you today.
Frequently asked questions about AEO statistics
Where do these AEO statistics come from?
Every statistic on this page comes from the original publisher, such as a company announcement, an earnings call, a research report or a survey. We do not cite statistics roundups, and we link each number to the page that states it.
How often is this page updated?
We review the page when a major AI platform publishes new usage figures or a new study changes the picture. The date at the top of the page shows the last review.
Can I use these statistics in my own content?
Yes, you can quote any statistic on this page. Please cite the original publisher linked under each figure, because that is the real source of the number.
What do these statistics mean for a B2B SaaS company?
They show that buyers now research software inside AI tools, and that fewer of them click through to websites. A B2B SaaS company therefore needs to be named and cited inside AI answers, which is the work AEO Operators does.