AI Search: Brands Must Track Both Ads and Mentions

The search landscape is no longer just about Google. As users increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's own AI Overviews for information, a new frontier for visibility has emerged. This shift presents marketers with a critical dual challenge: understanding if their brand is mentioned organically and if competitors are advertising within these AI-generated responses.

This dual visibility is essential because AI answers are increasingly incorporating advertisements, creating a complex environment where organic presence and paid promotion intersect. Most existing tools, however, only address one half of this equation, leaving a significant blind spot for brands aiming to capture attention in AI-driven conversations.

For instance, tools that track ChatGPT ads might show you paid placements but tell you nothing about whether your brand appears organically. Conversely, tools focused solely on AI mentions offer no insight into who is paying to appear alongside those answers. This separation means companies are missing half the picture, especially since organic mentions and paid ads can occur for the exact same user queries.

Google's AI Max further complicates this by automatically building and running ads based on user prompts, moving beyond traditional keyword targeting. This mirrors the user behavior shift seen with platforms like ChatGPT, but within the existing Google Search ecosystem.

Natural Intelligence's Dual Approach

Natural Intelligence, a company that operates comparison websites across over 80 categories, faces this challenge head-on. Their affiliate model relies on referring customers to businesses, making AI search visibility paramount.

Jonathan Bar-Vardi, Head of Strategy at Natural Intelligence, explains how they leverage Similarweb to monitor both sides of the AI search coin. "We've been using Similarweb across two different channels. On the organic front, it helps us look at which actual prompts the users are talking about and what they see," he stated.

On the paid side, the value is equally significant. "On the paid front, using Similarweb’s prompt data has been extremely significant, because there is so little data being provided by OpenAI right now. It's the only way to understand the user's actual behavior, the overall market, or the competitors active in it," Bar-Vardi added. This comprehensive view allows teams beyond just marketing, including product and business development, to gain strategic insights.

Actionable Strategies for AI Search Visibility

To navigate this evolving landscape, brands should identify key customer prompts related to their category and analyze both organic and paid visibility.

• If AI never mentions your brand, focus on Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) strategies to ensure your content is discoverable. Consider paid placements while organic visibility is built.
• If AI mentions your brand inconsistently, use ads to maintain a stable presence where organic visibility fluctuates, and continuously optimize for strong recommendations.
• If competitors are already advertising, build your brand's AI search visibility and use tools like Similarweb's AI Advertising to assess competitive ad spend and strategy.

For platforms like Google AI Max, prompt data becomes crucial for refining briefs and messaging, ensuring that terms like "best" or "popular" are incorporated effectively. The core topics driving prompt searches currently revolve around web traffic, competitor analysis, and ad intelligence, necessitating continuous monitoring for shifts.

Ultimately, whether it's a ChatGPT answer or a Google AI Overview, understanding both organic mentions and paid ads in AI search is critical. Tools like Similarweb, which provide this dual perspective on a single dashboard, are becoming indispensable for comprehensive market intelligence.

This comprehensive view is why Natural Intelligence AI search efforts, and indeed their entire company, now rely on a unified approach to AI search visibility, as detailed in research from Similarweb.