AI search engine market, October 2026
Miles FosterOwner and tester, RankDude
The marketâ–˛ Growing
- Visits, year on year, without ChatGPT
- +36%
- Visits vs September 2026
- +3.2%
- Name searches vs October 2025
- -0.9%
Every month I measure Google visits to the 10 AI search engine sites I track, and how often people search for them by name. In October 2026 they got about 998 million visits, 260% more than a year ago and 3% more than in September 2026.
Below: who grew fastest (one site is up 720% in a year), who sits highest on Google, where the visitors live and what comes next.
Data from DataForSEO, Tranco, Chrome UX Report and Ahrefs · not a ranking
AI search engine market: the key numbers for October 2026
Four numbers for October 2026. Visits mean visits from Google search to the tracked sites. Tap one for the detail below.
- The tracked sites got 998,385,210 visits from Google in October 2026, 260% more than a year ago and 3% more than in September 2026. ChatGPT, which takes 92% of all the visits, accounts for most of the rise (97% of it). Without it, visits would be up 36.4% on a year ago instead of up 260.1%. ChatGPT gained more visits in October 2026 (33,563,995) than the whole market did (31,020,491); without it, visits to the other sites fell 3.1% on September 2026.
- “ai search engine” gets about 12,100 US searches a month. People searched the site names 125,209,020 times in the US in September 2026, about as often as in October 2025.
- 1 tracked site is on Google’s first page for “ai search engine”; the highest is KOMO at position 5. ChatGPT is the most-visited site.
- 7.9% of visits came from the US (3% a year ago), then India, Germany and Canada. The five most-visited sites took 99.9% of all visits.
1How many visits
In plain words: These sites got more visits from Google than a year ago (+260%), and October 2026 was a better month than September 2026 (+3%). ChatGPT, which takes 92% of all the visits, accounts for most of the rise (97% of it). Without it, visits would be up 36.4% on a year ago instead of up 260.1%. ChatGPT gained more visits in October 2026 (33,563,995) than the whole market did (31,020,491); without it, visits to the other sites fell 3.1% on September 2026.
- Visits, October 2026
- 998,385,210 (+260.1% on a year ago, +3.2% on September 2026)
- US visits
- 79,242,965 (+849.4% on a year ago)
- 24-month peak
- this month, 998,385,210
WorldVisits a month to AI search engine sites, worldwide
Source: DataForSEO, Google search visits, all tracked sites.
Miles explains
Judge this line on the year, not the last dot: visits are 260% above a year ago, and this is the highest month in two years. One site winning or losing a ranking can swing a single month a lot.
2How many people went looking
People typed a site’s name into Google about as often as in October 2025 (-1%). That is the loyalty number, because nobody types a name by accident.
- Searches for "ai search engine"
- 12,100 a month in the US, 27,100 worldwide (12-month average)
- Name searches, September 2026
- 125,209,020 in the US (-0.9% since October 2025), 1,393,515,410 worldwide
USSearches a month for "ai search engine", United States
Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.
USSearches a month for the site names, United States
Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, to September 2026.
| Most searched by name, US | Searches a month |
|---|---|
 ChatGPT | 124,000,000 |
 Perplexity | 1,000,000 |
 Brave Search | 165,000 |
 Andi | 14,800 |
 Kagi | 14,800 |
 iAsk | 8,100 |
 DuckDuckGo AI Chat | 4,400 |
 Felo AI | 1,900 |
Most searched by name, US
- Searches a month
- 124,000,000
- Searches a month
- 1,000,000
- Searches a month
- 165,000
- Searches a month
- 14,800
- Searches a month
- 14,800
- Searches a month
- 8,100
- Searches a month
- 4,400
- Searches a month
- 1,900
Ordered by US searches for the brand name in September 2026. A measured order, not a ranking.
Rising next to the term on Google Trends: “no ai search engine”, “ai search engine api” and “new ai search engine”.
Miles explains
Name searches are the number I trust most. They are about level, and nobody types a site’s name by accident, so this shows more people coming back on purpose.
3Who is on Google's first page
1 tracked site is on Google’s first page for “ai search engine”; the highest-placed is KOMO, at position 5. Being on that page is the biggest single thing that decides how many visits a site gets.
Ordered by US Google position for “ai search engine”, then Tranco rank. A measured order, not a ranking.
| Site | Google US | Tranco | Move in 41 days | Search visits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 KOMO | 5 | 418,852 | â–˛ 12,455 | 5,192 |
| ChatGPT | – | 112 | ▼ 37 | 918,686,520 |
| Brave Search | – | 271 | ▲ 151 | 7,375,610 |
| DuckDuckGo AI Chat | – | 423 | ▲ 62 | 58,192,976 |
| Perplexity | – | 728 | ▼ 43 | 12,248,263 |
 Consensus | – | 18,300 | ▲ 828 | 663,320 |
| Kagi | – | 24,865 | ▲ 1,047 | 38,731 |
| Felo AI | – | 66,895 | ▼ 2,423 | 728,737 |
| iAsk | – | 189,679 | ▲ 7,678 | 391,325 |
| Andi | – | 223,967 | ▲ 8,416 | 54,536 |
Site
- Google US
- 5
- Tranco
- 418,852
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 12,455
- Search visits
- 5,192
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 112
- Move in 41 days
- â–Ľ 37
- Search visits
- 918,686,520
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 271
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 151
- Search visits
- 7,375,610
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 423
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 62
- Search visits
- 58,192,976
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 728
- Move in 41 days
- â–Ľ 43
- Search visits
- 12,248,263
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 18,300
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 828
- Search visits
- 663,320
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 24,865
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 1,047
- Search visits
- 38,731
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 66,895
- Move in 41 days
- â–Ľ 2,423
- Search visits
- 728,737
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 189,679
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 7,678
- Search visits
- 391,325
- Google US
- –
- Tranco
- 223,967
- Move in 41 days
- â–˛ 8,416
- Search visits
- 54,536
Source: DataForSEO (US Google positions) and Tranco, October 2026. First 10 of 10 sites shown.
Miles explains
No tracked site sits high on Google for “ai search engine”, so most visits here come from people who already know the names.
4Who grew, who faded
Biggest gain in October 2026: Felo AI (+25%); biggest loss: iAsk (-16%). Year-on-year growers are on the demand page.
Biggest moves in October 2026
| Up this month | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felo AI | 585,179 | 728,737 | +24.5% |
| Consensus | 537,616 | 663,320 | +23.4% |
| Kagi | 35,946 | 38,731 | +7.7% |
| ChatGPT | 885,122,525 | 918,686,520 | +3.8% |
| Down this month | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| iAsk | 465,949 | 391,325 | -16.0% |
| KOMO | 5,924 | 5,192 | -12.4% |
| Andi | 59,373 | 54,536 | -8.1% |
| Brave Search | 8,011,070 | 7,375,610 | -7.9% |
| DuckDuckGo AI Chat | 60,004,150 | 58,192,976 | -3.0% |
| Perplexity | 12,536,987 | 12,248,263 | -2.3% |
Down this month
- Sep 26
- 465,949
- Oct 26
- 391,325
- Change
- -16.0%
- Sep 26
- 5,924
- Oct 26
- 5,192
- Change
- -12.4%
- Sep 26
- 59,373
- Oct 26
- 54,536
- Change
- -8.1%
- Sep 26
- 8,011,070
- Oct 26
- 7,375,610
- Change
- -7.9%
- Sep 26
- 60,004,150
- Oct 26
- 58,192,976
- Change
- -3.0%
- Sep 26
- 12,536,987
- Oct 26
- 12,248,263
- Change
- -2.3%
Brand demand, since October 2025
| Searched more | Oct 25 | Sep 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| DuckDuckGo AI Chat | 2,400 | 4,400 | +83.3% |
| Brave Search | 90,500 | 165,000 | +82.3% |
| iAsk | 6,600 | 8,100 | +22.7% |
| Andi | 12,100 | 14,800 | +22.3% |
Searched more
- Oct 25
- 2,400
- Sep 26
- 4,400
- Change
- +83.3%
- Oct 25
- 90,500
- Sep 26
- 165,000
- Change
- +82.3%
- Oct 25
- 6,600
- Sep 26
- 8,100
- Change
- +22.7%
- Oct 25
- 12,100
- Sep 26
- 14,800
- Change
- +22.3%
| Searched less | Oct 25 | Sep 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | 2,240,000 | 1,000,000 | -55.4% |
| Felo AI | 2,400 | 1,900 | -20.8% |
Searched less
- Oct 25
- 2,240,000
- Sep 26
- 1,000,000
- Change
- -55.4%
- Oct 25
- 2,400
- Sep 26
- 1,900
- Change
- -20.8%
Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.
5Where the visitors live
About 8 of every 100 visits come from the United States.
- US share of visits
- 7.9% (3% a year ago)
- Largest outside the US
- India, Germany and Canada
- US share of "ai search engine" searches
- 45%
USShare of visits that come from the US (%)
US share of worldwide search visits, month by month.
| Country | Search visits a month | Share of the measured countries |
|---|---|---|
| India | 161,287,215 | 82.3% |
| Germany | 16,346,951 | 8.3% |
| Canada | 11,283,065 | 5.8% |
| Brazil | 2,362,438 | 1.2% |
| United Kingdom | 2,008,889 | 1% |
| France | 1,441,466 | 0.7% |
| Australia | 1,176,030 | 0.6% |
Country
- India
- Search visits a month
- 161,287,215
- Share of the measured countries
- 82.3%
- Germany
- Search visits a month
- 16,346,951
- Share of the measured countries
- 8.3%
- Canada
- Search visits a month
- 11,283,065
- Share of the measured countries
- 5.8%
- Brazil
- Search visits a month
- 2,362,438
- Share of the measured countries
- 1.2%
- United Kingdom
- Search visits a month
- 2,008,889
- Share of the measured countries
- 1%
- France
- Search visits a month
- 1,441,466
- Share of the measured countries
- 0.7%
- Australia
- Search visits a month
- 1,176,030
- Share of the measured countries
- 0.6%
Source: DataForSEO, October 2026.
Miles explains
The US is the single biggest market, but only about 8 in every 100 visits. India alone is 82.3% of the countries I measure outside it.
6Links and ratings
The tracked sites had 617,005 referring domains between them in October 2026 (9 of the 10 sites measured); this is the first reading, so there is no year-on-year figure yet. The average Domain Rating is 78. ChatGPT has the strongest link profile at DR 93.
| By Domain Rating (Ahrefs) | DR |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 93 |
| DuckDuckGo AI Chat | 91 |
| Perplexity | 91 |
| Brave Search | 90 |
| Consensus | 80 |
| Kagi | 79 |
| iAsk | 70 |
| Andi | 63 |
By Domain Rating (Ahrefs)
- DR
- 93
- DR
- 91
- DR
- 91
- DR
- 90
- DR
- 80
- DR
- 79
- DR
- 70
- DR
- 63
| By referring domains | Domains |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 303,620 |
| Perplexity | 127,032 |
| DuckDuckGo AI Chat | 103,051 |
| Brave Search | 63,080 |
| Kagi | 9,089 |
| Felo AI | 3,520 |
| iAsk | 3,043 |
| Andi | 2,757 |
By referring domains
- Domains
- 303,620
- Domains
- 127,032
- Domains
- 103,051
- Domains
- 63,080
- Domains
- 9,089
- Domains
- 3,520
- Domains
- 3,043
- Domains
- 2,757
Source: DataForSEO and Ahrefs, October 2026.