RankDude
Updated 10/15/2026 · next update 11/01/2026

AI Sales Automation Industry Report, September 2026

Miles FosterOwner and tester, RankDude

The market▼ Shrinking

Visits, year on year
-38%
Visits, last six months
-41%
Name searches vs October 2025
-13%

Every key number on the AI sales automation market for September 2026, dated and sourced, so you can quote it. The 20 sites I measure got about 1.2 million visits from Google, 38% fewer than a year ago, and the five most-visited sites took 72.3% of them.

Below: every figure in one table, the most-visited sites, who grew and who shrank and what I expect for October 2026.

Published 15 October 2026. Data from DataForSEO, Tranco and Ahrefs · free to quote with a link · not a ranking

AI sales automation industry report: the key numbers for September 2026

Four numbers for September 2026. Visits mean visits from Google search to the 20 tracked sites. Tap one for the detail below.

1Every figure in one table

Measure

  • Search visits a month, all tracked sites, worldwide
    Value
    1,174,580
    Period and basis
    September 2026; -38.3% year on year, -8.6% month on month
  • Search visits a month, United States
    Value
    419,812
    Period and basis
    September 2026; -33.1% year on year
  • US share of worldwide search visits
    Value
    35.7%
    Period and basis
    September 2026
  • Brand-name searches a month, US, all counted brands
    Value
    104,050
    Period and basis
    September 2026; -13.2% against October 2025
  • Brand-name searches a month, worldwide
    Value
    571,460
    Period and basis
    September 2026; +5.7% against October 2025
  • Searches a month for “ai sales automation”, US
    Value
    260
    Period and basis
    Google Ads, 12-month average
  • Searches a month for “ai sales automation”, worldwide
    Value
    720
    Period and basis
    Google Ads, 12-month average
  • Referring domains, all tracked sites
    Value
    118,107
    Period and basis
    September 2026; first reading, no year-on-year figure yet
  • Share of worldwide visits held by the five most-visited sites
    Value
    72.3%
    Period and basis
    September 2026
  • Share held by the ten most-visited sites
    Value
    91.3%
    Period and basis
    September 2026
  • Tracked sites on Google's first page for “ai sales automation”, US
    Value
    1
    Period and basis
    September 2026; positions 1 to 10
  • Tracked sites ranking anywhere for “ai sales automation”, US
    Value
    1
    Period and basis
    September 2026; any position checked

Brand-name searches leave out Clay: the name is shared with an ordinary word or another product.

2How many people visited

In plain words: These sites got fewer visits from Google than a year ago (-38%), and September 2026 was a weaker month than August 2026 (-9%).

WorldVisits a month to AI sales automation sites, worldwide

01.3M2.5M3.8M5.0MOct 24Dec 24Feb 25Apr 25Jun 25Aug 25Oct 25Dec 25Feb 26Apr 26Jun 26Sep 261.2M
Low 1.2MHigh 4.6MAverage 2.1M
Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: DataForSEO, Google search visits, all tracked sites.

Miles explains

Judge this line on the year, not the last dot: visits are 38% below a year ago, and 74% below the October 2024 high. One site winning or losing a ranking can swing a single month a lot.

3How many people went looking

People typed a site’s name into Google 13% less often than in October 2025 (-13%). That is the loyalty number: nobody types a name by accident.

USSearches a month for the site names, United States

050.0K100K150K200KOct 25Dec 25Feb 26Apr 26Jun 26Sep 26104K
Low 87.5KHigh 148KAverage 112K
Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

US searches a month for the counted brand names, summed. Google Ads data via DataForSEO, to September 2026.

Miles explains

Name searches are the number I trust most. They are down 13%, and nobody types a site’s name by accident, so this shows fewer people coming back on purpose.

4Where the visitors live

About 36 of every 100 visits come from the United States. Outside the US I measure 7 countries one by one; the largest is India.

USShare of visits that come from the US (%)

012.52537.550Oct 24Dec 24Feb 25Apr 25Jun 25Aug 25Oct 25Dec 25Feb 26Apr 26Jun 26Sep 2635.7
Low 29.4High 45.5Average 36
Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

US share of worldwide search visits, month by month.

Country

  • India
    Search visits a month
    271,536
    Share of the measured countries
    69.9%
  • United Kingdom
    Search visits a month
    41,045
    Share of the measured countries
    10.6%
  • Canada
    Search visits a month
    32,711
    Share of the measured countries
    8.4%
  • France
    Search visits a month
    15,158
    Share of the measured countries
    3.9%
  • Brazil
    Search visits a month
    10,569
    Share of the measured countries
    2.7%
  • Germany
    Search visits a month
    10,218
    Share of the measured countries
    2.6%
  • Australia
    Search visits a month
    7,356
    Share of the measured countries
    1.9%

Source: DataForSEO, September 2026.

Miles explains

The US is the biggest single market, but only about 36 in every 100 visits. India alone is 69.9% of the countries measured outside it.

5The most-visited sites

Apollo.io gets the most visits, Apollo.io is the name people search for most, and Smartlead is the highest-placed tracked site on Google for “ai sales automation”, at position 5. The five most-visited sites take 72.3% of all visits.

By worldwide search visits

  • Apollo.io
    Visits a month
    237,806
  • Seamless.AI
    Visits a month
    230,091
  • Clay
    Visits a month
    178,111
  • Salesforge
    Visits a month
    109,914
  • Instantly
    Visits a month
    93,206
  • Clodura
    Visits a month
    58,831
  • Phantombuster
    Visits a month
    52,536
  • Salesloft
    Visits a month
    43,996
  • Cognism
    Visits a month
    36,733
  • lemlist
    Visits a month
    31,247

By US brand-name searches

  • Apollo.io
    Searches a month
    40,500
  • Salesloft
    Searches a month
    18,100
  • Seamless.AI
    Searches a month
    9,900
  • Instantly
    Searches a month
    8,100
  • Smartlead
    Searches a month
    6,600
  • lemlist
    Searches a month
    4,400
  • Amplemarket
    Searches a month
    3,600
  • Phantombuster
    Searches a month
    3,600
  • Cognism
    Searches a month
    2,400
  • Nooks
    Searches a month
    1,900

Miles explains

The five most-visited sites take 72.3% of all visits. When one of them gains or loses a big ranking, the whole market total moves with it.

6Who grew and who shrank

The fastest grower in a year was Salesforge (+406%); the steepest fall was at Smartlead (-72%). Big swings are usually one site winning or losing one Google ranking.

Growing

  • Salesforge
    A year ago
    21,715
    Now
    109,914
    Change
    +406%
  • Amplemarket
    A year ago
    5,086
    Now
    8,792
    Change
    +73%
  • Seamless.AI
    A year ago
    223,877
    Now
    230,091
    Change
    +3%

Declining

  • Smartlead
    A year ago
    46,291
    Now
    13,163
    Change
    -72%
  • Klenty (SDRx)
    A year ago
    25,835
    Now
    7,915
    Change
    -69%
  • Reply.io
    A year ago
    73,880
    Now
    24,230
    Change
    -67%
  • Nooks
    A year ago
    60,864
    Now
    21,056
    Change
    -65%
  • Clay
    A year ago
    501,082
    Now
    178,111
    Change
    -65%
  • Outreach
    A year ago
    33,725
    Now
    12,754
    Change
    -62%
  • Salesloft
    A year ago
    112,228
    Now
    43,996
    Change
    -61%
  • lemlist
    A year ago
    77,651
    Now
    31,247
    Change
    -60%

Worldwide search visits, September 2026 against a year earlier; sites with at least 5,000 visits a year ago.

To cite this report: RankDude, “AI Sales Automation Industry Report, September 2026”, published 15 October 2026, https://rankdude.ai/ai-sales-automation/statistics/industry-report. Figures are estimates from the sources named beside them.