Updated 11/02/2026 · next update 12/01/2026

AI tools for research market, October 2026

Miles FosterOwner and tester, RankDude

The market▲ Growing

Visits, year on year, without ChatGPT: +7.9%
Visits vs September 2026: +2.4%
Name searches vs October 2025: +4.6%

Every month I measure Google visits to the 195 AI tools for research sites I track, and how often people search for them by name. In October 2026 they got about 1.2 billion visits, 163% more than a year ago and 2% more than in September 2026.

Below: who grew fastest (one site is up 12263% in a year), where the visitors live and what comes next.

Data from DataForSEO, Tranco, Chrome UX Report and Ahrefs · not a ranking

AI tools for research 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.

Visits from Google1159Mvisits+163% vs a year ago
Name searches, US139Msearches+5% vs October 2025
Top five sites95.1%of visitsChatGPT is the most visited
Expected in November1194Mvisitslikely 1.1B to 1.3B

The tracked sites got 1,158,993,473 visits from Google in October 2026, 163% more than a year ago and 2% more than in September 2026. ChatGPT, which takes 79.3% of all the visits, accounts for most of the rise (98% of it). Without it, visits would be up 7.9% on a year ago instead of up 162.6%.
“ai tools for research” gets about 720 US searches a month. People searched the site names 139,468,610 times in the US in September 2026, 5% more often than in October 2025.
No tracked site ranks on Google for “ai tools for research”. ChatGPT is the most-visited site.
7.8% of visits came from the US (4.7% a year ago), then India, Germany and Canada. The five most-visited sites took 95.1% of all visits.

1How many visits

In plain words: These sites got more visits from Google than a year ago (+163%), and October 2026 was about the same as September 2026 (+2%). ChatGPT, which takes 79.3% of all the visits, accounts for most of the rise (98% of it). Without it, visits would be up 7.9% on a year ago instead of up 162.6%.

Visits, October 2026: 1,158,993,473 (+162.6% on a year ago, +2.4% on September 2026)
US visits: 89,953,805 (+330.1% on a year ago)
24-month peak: this month, 1,158,993,473

WorldVisits a month to AI tools for research sites, worldwide

Low 211MHigh 1159MAverage 537M

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 163% 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 5% more often than in October 2025 (+5%). That is the loyalty number, because nobody types a name by accident.

Searches for "ai tools for research": 720 a month in the US, 8,100 worldwide (12-month average)
Name searches, September 2026: 139,468,610 in the US (+4.6% since October 2025), 1,468,700,100 worldwide

USSearches a month for "ai tools for research", United States

Low 390High 1.0KAverage 646

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.

USSearches a month for the site names, United States

Low 111MHigh 140MAverage 131M

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, to September 2026.

Most searched brand names, US, ordered by searches a month
Most searched by name, US	Searches a month
ChatGPT	124,000,000
Claude	9,140,000
Grammarly	2,740,000
Dimensions	368,000
UpToDate	368,000
Citation Machine	368,000
EasyBib	301,000
MyBib	301,000

Most searched by name, US

ChatGPT
Searches a month
124,000,000
Claude
Searches a month
9,140,000
Grammarly
Searches a month
2,740,000
Dimensions
Searches a month
368,000
UpToDate
Searches a month
368,000
Citation Machine
Searches a month
368,000
EasyBib
Searches a month
301,000
MyBib
Searches a month
301,000

Ordered by US searches for the brand name in September 2026. A measured order, not a ranking.

Miles explains

Name searches are the number I trust most. They are up 5%, 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

No tracked site is on Google’s first page for “ai tools for research”. Being on that page is the biggest single thing that decides how many visits a site gets.

Ordered by US Google position for “ai tools for research”, then Tranco rank. A measured order, not a ranking.

Google US positions for ai tools for research, the first 15 of 195 tracked sites
Site	Google US	Tranco	Move in 41 days	Search visits
ChatGPT	–	112	▼ 37	918,686,520
Grammarly	–	323	▲ 244	21,845,704
Claude	–	417	▲ 21	28,705,332
SurveyMonkey	–	690	▼ 9	511,463
Qualtrics	–	926	▲ 15	476,542
Screener	–	1,591	▼ 3	89,967,726
Semantic Scholar	–	2,211	▼ 67	1,992,928
Semrush	–	2,299	▼ 153	15,035,371
Feedly	–	3,626	▼ 114	84,469
Smallpdf	–	3,915	▼ 57	43,079,920
Similarweb	–	4,098	▲ 132	8,729,367
Zotero	–	5,132	▲ 75	308,603
Mendeley	–	6,730	▲ 523	584,716
Foxit	–	10,364	▼ 98	1,944,428
UpToDate	–	10,512	▼ 268	2,382,212

Site

ChatGPT
Google US
–
Tranco
112
Move in 41 days
▼ 37
Search visits
918,686,520
Grammarly
Google US
–
Tranco
323
Move in 41 days
▲ 244
Search visits
21,845,704
Claude
Google US
–
Tranco
417
Move in 41 days
▲ 21
Search visits
28,705,332
SurveyMonkey
Google US
–
Tranco
690
Move in 41 days
▼ 9
Search visits
511,463
Qualtrics
Google US
–
Tranco
926
Move in 41 days
▲ 15
Search visits
476,542
Screener
Google US
–
Tranco
1,591
Move in 41 days
▼ 3
Search visits
89,967,726
Semantic Scholar
Google US
–
Tranco
2,211
Move in 41 days
▼ 67
Search visits
1,992,928
Semrush
Google US
–
Tranco
2,299
Move in 41 days
▼ 153
Search visits
15,035,371
Feedly
Google US
–
Tranco
3,626
Move in 41 days
▼ 114
Search visits
84,469
Smallpdf
Google US
–
Tranco
3,915
Move in 41 days
▼ 57
Search visits
43,079,920
Similarweb
Google US
–
Tranco
4,098
Move in 41 days
▲ 132
Search visits
8,729,367
Zotero
Google US
–
Tranco
5,132
Move in 41 days
▲ 75
Search visits
308,603
Mendeley
Google US
–
Tranco
6,730
Move in 41 days
▲ 523
Search visits
584,716
Foxit
Google US
–
Tranco
10,364
Move in 41 days
▼ 98
Search visits
1,944,428
UpToDate
Google US
–
Tranco
10,512
Move in 41 days
▼ 268
Search visits
2,382,212

Source: DataForSEO (US Google positions) and Tranco, October 2026. First 15 of 195 sites shown.

Miles explains

No tracked site sits high on Google for “ai tools for research”, so most visits here come from people who already know the names.

4Who grew, who faded

Biggest gain in October 2026: Discuss (+156%); biggest loss: Dr.Oracle (-42%). Year-on-year growers are on the demand page.

Biggest moves in October 2026

Biggest monthly gains
Up this month	Sep 26	Oct 26	Change
Discuss	14,281	36,615	+156.4%
Noiz	89,305	210,015	+135.2%
Black Swan Data	646,368	1,354,448	+109.5%
Paperguide	120,029	204,959	+70.8%
Video Highlight	95,773	147,283	+53.8%
TubeOnAI	7,192	10,492	+45.9%

Up this month

Discuss
Sep 26
14,281
Oct 26
36,615
Change
+156.4%
Noiz
Sep 26
89,305
Oct 26
210,015
Change
+135.2%
Black Swan Data
Sep 26
646,368
Oct 26
1,354,448
Change
+109.5%
Paperguide
Sep 26
120,029
Oct 26
204,959
Change
+70.8%
Video Highlight
Sep 26
95,773
Oct 26
147,283
Change
+53.8%
TubeOnAI
Sep 26
7,192
Oct 26
10,492
Change
+45.9%

Biggest monthly losses
Down this month	Sep 26	Oct 26	Change
Dr.Oracle	528,382	306,773	-41.9%
Optimo	7,508	4,421	-41.1%
Humata	39,963	24,164	-39.5%
Zappi	9,092	5,731	-37.0%
R Discovery	396,910	259,131	-34.7%
Jenni	492,758	329,567	-33.1%

Down this month

Dr.Oracle
Sep 26
528,382
Oct 26
306,773
Change
-41.9%
Optimo
Sep 26
7,508
Oct 26
4,421
Change
-41.1%
Humata
Sep 26
39,963
Oct 26
24,164
Change
-39.5%
Zappi
Sep 26
9,092
Oct 26
5,731
Change
-37.0%
R Discovery
Sep 26
396,910
Oct 26
259,131
Change
-34.7%
Jenni
Sep 26
492,758
Oct 26
329,567
Change
-33.1%

Brand demand, since October 2025

Brand names searched more
Searched more	Oct 25	Sep 26	Change
AnswerThis	5,400	165,000	+2955.6%
Claude	1,220,000	9,140,000	+649.2%
Listen Labs	4,400	22,200	+404.5%
Rogo	8,100	22,200	+174.1%
Vera Health	2,400	5,400	+125.0%
Semantic Scholar	14,800	33,100	+123.6%

Searched more

AnswerThis
Oct 25
5,400
Sep 26
165,000
Change
+2955.6%
Claude
Oct 25
1,220,000
Sep 26
9,140,000
Change
+649.2%
Listen Labs
Oct 25
4,400
Sep 26
22,200
Change
+404.5%
Rogo
Oct 25
8,100
Sep 26
22,200
Change
+174.1%
Vera Health
Oct 25
2,400
Sep 26
5,400
Change
+125.0%
Semantic Scholar
Oct 25
14,800
Sep 26
33,100
Change
+123.6%

Brand names searched less
Searched less	Oct 25	Sep 26	Change
Avidnote	1,600	140	-91.2%
Yomu	1,600	260	-83.7%
Kavout	1,600	320	-80.0%
Summary Generator	6,600	1,900	-71.2%
AI Summarizer	40,500	12,100	-70.1%
ChatPDF	27,100	8,100	-70.1%

Searched less

Avidnote
Oct 25
1,600
Sep 26
140
Change
-91.2%
Yomu
Oct 25
1,600
Sep 26
260
Change
-83.7%
Kavout
Oct 25
1,600
Sep 26
320
Change
-80.0%
Summary Generator
Oct 25
6,600
Sep 26
1,900
Change
-71.2%
AI Summarizer
Oct 25
40,500
Sep 26
12,100
Change
-70.1%
ChatPDF
Oct 25
27,100
Sep 26
8,100
Change
-70.1%

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.

5Where the visitors live

About 8 of every 100 visits come from the United States.

US share of visits: 7.8% (4.7% a year ago)
Largest outside the US: India, Germany and Canada
US share of "ai tools for research" searches: 9%

USShare of visits that come from the US (%)

Low 3.8High 8.4Average 6

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

US share of worldwide search visits, month by month.

Visits by country, the ten largest outside the US
Country	Search visits a month	Share of the measured countries
India	245,128,545	84.7%
Germany	16,688,140	5.8%
Canada	13,810,828	4.8%
United Kingdom	4,540,215	1.6%
Brazil	3,983,845	1.4%
France	2,893,093	1%
Australia	2,521,763	0.9%

Country

India
Search visits a month
245,128,545
Share of the measured countries
84.7%
Germany
Search visits a month
16,688,140
Share of the measured countries
5.8%
Canada
Search visits a month
13,810,828
Share of the measured countries
4.8%
United Kingdom
Search visits a month
4,540,215
Share of the measured countries
1.6%
Brazil
Search visits a month
3,983,845
Share of the measured countries
1.4%
France
Search visits a month
2,893,093
Share of the measured countries
1%
Australia
Search visits a month
2,521,763
Share of the measured countries
0.9%

Source: DataForSEO, October 2026.

Miles explains

The US is the single biggest market, but only about 8 in every 100 visits. India alone is 84.7% of the countries I measure outside it.

6Links and ratings

The tracked sites had 2,252,194 referring domains between them in October 2026 (194 of the 195 sites measured); this is the first reading, so there is no year-on-year figure yet. The average Domain Rating is 53. ChatGPT has the strongest link profile at DR 93.

Strongest link profiles by Domain Rating
By Domain Rating (Ahrefs)	DR
ChatGPT	93
Claude	92
Semrush	92
SurveyMonkey	92
Feedly	91
Semantic Scholar	91
Qualtrics	91
Grammarly	90

By Domain Rating (Ahrefs)

ChatGPT
DR
93
Claude
DR
92
Semrush
DR
92
SurveyMonkey
DR
92
Feedly
DR
91
Semantic Scholar
DR
91
Qualtrics
DR
91
Grammarly
DR
90

Most referring domains
By referring domains	Domains
SurveyMonkey	305,075
ChatGPT	303,620
Feedly	212,869
Qualtrics	149,211
Semrush	142,748
Claude	138,543
Semantic Scholar	129,509
Grammarly	96,256

By referring domains

SurveyMonkey
Domains
305,075
ChatGPT
Domains
303,620
Feedly
Domains
212,869
Qualtrics
Domains
149,211
Semrush
Domains
142,748
Claude
Domains
138,543
Semantic Scholar
Domains
129,509
Grammarly
Domains
96,256

Source: DataForSEO and Ahrefs, October 2026.