ChatGPT is far from resolved when brands define multiple stages of purchase. Semrush’s analysis found that only 15.2% of topic categories have a clear product leader across a range of related consumer queries, suggesting that AI visibility remains highly competitive even for established companies.
The study examined 1,094 US categories using the five most common consumer commands for each topic, including descriptions, comparisons, alternatives, use cases, and purchase decisions. To qualify as a category owner, a product had to appear in at least four out of five responses and lead its nearest competitor by at least five percent.
Only 166 categories have reached that level.
Another 31.2% had an emerging leader, where one brand appeared in at least three orders but lacked significant leadership. The remaining 53.7% had no consistent leader at all.
Visibility varies across consumer inquiries
The findings suggest that appearing in a single AI-generated response does not imply ownership of a broader category.
Instead, visibility changes as consumers ask different questions within the same topic. That makes measuring performance across the entire shopping journey more useful than tracking individual information levels.
The pattern was even more pronounced for high-demand topics. Among the half of categories generating AI search activity, only 11.3% had a clear owner. The less competitive categories were stable, with 19% producing outstanding product.
Because the most searched topics accounted for 98% of the AI search volume in the study, the majority of consumer activity occurs in categories where no single category appears immediately.
Traditional SEO explains only part of AI visibility
Semrush also compared category ownership to common SEO metrics, including branded search volume, organic traffic, and Authority Score.
Branded search volume is the only metric that consistently correlates with category identity. Organic traffic and authority scores showed little correlation that ChatGPT consistently associated with the product and topic.
The analysis also found that citations and brand mentions tend to diverge. Only 21% of the most cited domains within the category were also the most mentioned brand in ChatGPT responses, suggesting that citation counts alone provide an incomplete picture of AI visibility.
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Small clues are easy to miss
When brands established a clear category identity, they usually stuck to it. Category leaders are consistently in first place in over 90% of month-to-month comparisons.
Non-rigid leaders seem to be more flexible. Across emerging and unstable categories, the top brand changed nearly 2,000 times during the study period. Divisions with smaller leads were also more likely to see leadership changes than those with larger gaps between rivals.
For marketers, the findings reinforce that AI search visibility extends beyond the individual information level. As consumers ask dozens of related questions before making purchase decisions, consistent relevance to the entire topic seems more important than appearing in a single AI answer.
The full study is available here. (No registration required)
