boltTLDR
A new study by geoSurge found that AI models search for familiar brands 3.2 times more often than unfamiliar ones, potentially creating an unfair advantage for established names.
Researchers analyzing nearly 4,000 AI search responses found that across multiple models, familiar brands dominated searches at rates up to 82% in some industries, while unfamiliar brands appeared in only 9–23% of category-specific searches, per geoSurge's analysis covered by Search Engine Land. The data suggests memory—what a model was trained on—strongly influences which brands get searched for, though some live search capability still allows newer brands to surface in categories where models rely less on prior knowledge.