The AI visibility index: Which brands are

Fractl’s study reveals how some well‑known brands are under‑represented in AI search results while others dominate, highlighting a mismatch between traditional SEO and AI recall.

Fractl’s AI Visibility Index uncovers a surprising gap: several household names are barely showing up in AI‑driven search results, while a handful of brands dominate the conversation.

What the AI Visibility Index Measures

The index evaluates how often a brand appears in the top answers generated by generative AI tools compared with its presence in traditional search engine results pages (SERPs).

Researchers compiled a list of 500 well‑known brands across categories such as consumer goods, finance, and technology, then queried leading AI chatbots with generic prompts to see which brands were recalled.

Brands That Are Vanishing

Many legacy brands—particularly in the retail and automotive sectors—were either omitted or mentioned only in passing, indicating that AI models may prioritize newer or more digitally active competitors.

Legacy automotive manufacturers
Traditional department store chains
Established consumer packaged goods firms

Brands That Dominate AI Recall

Conversely, brands with strong online engagement, frequent media coverage, and robust content strategies consistently surfaced at the top of AI responses.

Tech giants with active AI initiatives
Fast‑moving consumer brands with viral marketing
E‑commerce platforms with extensive user‑generated content

The findings suggest a mismatch between classic SEO tactics—focused on keyword rankings—and the factors that drive AI recall, such as content freshness, semantic relevance, and backlink quality.

Marketers may need to adapt by optimizing for AI‑friendly signals, including structured data, comprehensive FAQs, and consistent brand mentions across diverse digital touchpoints.