Only 15.2% of ChatGPT topic categories had a clear brand owner for all related consumer queries, according to Semrush analysis.
That means that about 85% of the categories did not have a leading brand. Appearing in one notification does not mean that the product appeared consistently in all related queries on the same topic.
How ownership is defined. Semrush defined the category owner as the brand with the highest share of mentions, appearing in at least four out of five related notifications and leading the runner-up by at least 5 percent.
- Only 15.2 percent of the 1,094 categories reached that level.
- Another 31.2% had an emerging leader, with one sign appearing in at least three orders but without the required lead.
- The remaining 53.7% were unstable, with no symptom appearing in at least three of the five prescriptions.
Popular topics, few clear owners. Semrush divided categories into two groups by the need for AI search. Only 11.3% of subjects in the top half had a clear owner, compared to 19% in the bottom half.
- A high proportion accounted for 98% of the AI search volume in the sample.
- Most of the ChatGPT searches Semrush tracked were in programs with no clear product owner.
Broad SEO metrics have limited predictive value. Traditional SEO capabilities did not reliably predict which brands carried ChatGPT topics. “Traditional SEO metrics are not enough to define who owns a title. While they play their role, there is more to it,” writes Kevin Indig, founder of Growth Memo.
- Semrush compared the category owners and runners-up for each keyword search category, organic traffic, and Authority Score.
- Owners had 55.7% higher keyword search volume, 48.4% higher organic traffic, and 52.5% higher Authority Score. Branded search volume was the only metric that reached statistical significance.
The most quoted rarely meant the most talked about. Semrush measured ownership by mention of the product in the ChatGPT feedback text, not by the links mentioned below.
- What was said and what was quoted often did not match. Only 21% of the most cited domains in the category were also the most cited brand.
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Why do we care. Semrush found that visibility at the immediate level is not always relevant to consumer inquiries. That suggests topic-level visibility is very important in assessing whether ChatGPT consistently associates a product with a category.
Brands that own the title usually keep it. Clear category holders remain in first place in 90.4% of month-to-month comparisons. Weak leaders change frequently, with the top product changing in 1,950 of 5,470 comparisons across emerging and unsolved categories.
The small tracks were unstable. When the top brand later lost first place, its average lead was only 1.3 percent. When he was on top, his average lead was 2.9 points, double the size.
- Semrush said the information does not explain why the leaders changed. It only shows that species with smaller footprints are more likely to lose first place.
About the data. Semrush and Kevin Indig analyzed 1,094 US categories on ChatGPT from January to June 2026 using the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit. The dataset included more than 50,000 products, 220,000 domains, 600,000 citations, and 220,000 URLs. Each section includes five commands tied to common consumer questions, including definitions, comparisons, alternatives, use cases, and purchasing decisions.
Lesson. AI visibility is a topic-level game: Survey of 50,000 brands on ChatGPT [Study]
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