AI Visibility Awards: Brands Winning in AI Search
â–Ľ Summary
– Semrush has launched the AI Visibility Awards to recognize brands that are most frequently cited in AI-generated responses, using data from over 2,500 real prompts.
– The awards measure three performance types across four verticals: Category Leaders, Growth Engines, and Challengers, with winners like Google and Samsung.
– Data from the awards indicates that leading brands in AI search show low monthly volatility, suggesting AI engines consistently favor established, trusted names.
– The analysis reveals that brands with clear niche relevance and newer challengers with strong positioning can successfully gain visibility in AI results.
– The awards highlight that achieving visibility in AI search results has become a critical new competitive factor for marketers and brands.
When consumers turn to AI assistants for everything from booking trips to finding the perfect product, a critical new question emerges for businesses: how can a brand ensure it is featured in those automated responses? Semrush has introduced an initiative to identify the companies succeeding in this new arena. The AI Visibility Awards, powered by the company’s proprietary AI Visibility Index, highlight the brands most frequently recommended across thousands of real user prompts processed through leading AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode.
According to Andrew Warden, CMO at Semrush, this represents a fundamental shift in marketing. “This year marks a turning point in how brands earn visibility,” he stated. The awards are not based on traditional submissions but on analyzing actual user interactions, recognizing marketers who are effectively building trust within AI-generated answers.
The program evaluates performance across four major industry verticals, identifying three distinct types of achievers. Category Leaders hold the largest presence in AI search results. Growth Engines are the brands demonstrating the fastest increases in their visibility. Challengers are the emerging names gaining meaningful traction.
In practical terms, this means Google was named the Category Leader for Business & Professional Services, while Rippling earned a spot as a Challenger. Within Consumer Electronics, Samsung led as the Category Leader, with Logitech and Nothing Technology recognized as a Growth Engine and Challenger, respectively. Other notable winners include Microsoft as the Digital Tech & Software leader, UNIQLO as a Growth Engine in Fashion & Apparel, and Anthropic as a Challenger in Digital Tech.
The data behind these awards reveals several important trends for marketers to consider. First, there is notable stability among leading brands; top performers showed less than twenty percent monthly fluctuation in their AI share-of-voice, indicating that AI systems tend to consistently favor established, trusted names. Secondly, brands with exceptionally clear topical authority, such as Patagonia in sustainable fashion or Logitech in gaming peripherals, often achieve visibility disproportionate to their overall market size.
Furthermore, the landscape shows that newer entrants can successfully compete. Challenger brands like the clothing rental service Nuuly and the AI firm Anthropic are gaining ground through strong, focused positioning. It is also clear that different industries behave uniquely; some verticals like Business & Professional Services remain fiercely competitive, while others more readily reward consistent niche expertise.
These findings underscore a reality that is becoming impossible for marketers to ignore: achieving visibility within AI search is now a crucial component of competitive strategy. For forward-thinking brands, optimizing for this new channel is already shaping critical business decisions.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
