Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and OpenAI’s ChatGPT often give consumers different brand recommendations – a potential warning sign for marketers chasing AI visibility – according to a new BrightEdge analysis.

The big picture. ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode and AI Overviews disagreed on brand recommendations nearly two-thirds of the time (61.9%), according to BrightEdge’s analysis of tens of thousands of identical prompts.

By the numbers. Just 33.5% of queries included brands across all three platforms, and only 4.6% had no brands mentioned anywhere. Other key findings:

  • Google AI Overviews dominate: Google’s AI Overviews surfaced brands in 36.8% of queries, while ChatGPT led in just 3.9%.
  • Brand density: Google AI Overviews averaged 6.02 brands per query, more than 2.5x higher than ChatGPT’s 2.37 and far ahead of AI Mode’s 1.59.
  • Silence rates: ChatGPT offered no brand mentions in 43.4% of queries. Google AI Mode stayed silent 46.8% of the time, compared to just 9.1% for AIO.

The citation paradox. The study also uncovered stark differences in citation behavior:

  • ChatGPT mentions more than it cites, with 3.2x more brand mentions (2.37) than citations (0.73).
  • Google AI Overviews cites far more than it mentions (14.30 citations vs. 6.02 mentions).
  • Google AI Mode shows an even bigger gap — 6x more citations than mentions (9.49 vs. 1.59).

This data may suggest that ChatGPT’s responses lean heavily on its training patterns, while Google emphasizes visible source attribution.

Where platforms align. The rare moments of brand alignment depended on query intent:

  • Compare queries: 80% same-brand agreement.
  • Buy queries: 62%.
  • Where queries: 38%.
  • Best queries: 23%.

Industry breakdown. Disagreement rates also varied by sector:

  • Healthcare: 68.5%
  • Education: 62.1%
  • B2B Tech: 61.7%
  • Finance: 57.9%
  • Ecommerce: 57.1% (lowest)

Why we care. For brands, these findings highlight a volatile AI landscape where visibility is far from guaranteed – and often inconsistent. As BrightEdge notes, the fragmentation creates “massive untapped visibility opportunities” for companies optimizing for generative search.

The report. ChatGPT vs Google AI: 62% Brand Recommendation Disagreement

Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.

Danny GoodwinDanny Goodwin

Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events. Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.