Why marketers need to stop thinking about AI search as one platform
Claude’s audience has grown by around 180% in just six months, yet most conversations about AI visibility are still dominated by ChatGPT. That disconnect matters. It isn’t simply a story about one platform becoming more popular; it’s evidence that AI search is fragmenting into multiple ecosystems with different audiences, behaviours and buying journeys.
The implication for brands is clear. Optimising for ‘AI’ is no longer enough. The organisations that succeed will understand where their customers are making decisions and ensure they are trusted across every major AI platform.
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Why Claude’s growth matters
According to Similarweb’s 2026 Generative AI Landscape report , Claude is one of the fastest-growing generative AI platforms. Unlike ChatGPT, however, it has carved out a distinctive position among professionals, researchers and enterprise users. Users typically submit longer prompts, spend longer in conversations and use Claude to reason through complex work rather than ask quick factual questions.
“Claude’s growth isn’t the headline. The fragmentation of AI search is.”
Similarweb’s 2026 Generative AI Landscape report
AI assistants are specialising
Treating ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity as interchangeable is becoming increasingly misleading. Each platform is developing its own strengths, audience and role within the customer journey.
| Platform | Typical audience | Core strength | Visibility challenge | GEO implication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Broad consumer + business | General assistance | Very broad queries | Build authority across many topics |
| Claude | Professionals & enterprise | Reasoning, writing, analysis | Harder to measure | Publish deep, evidence-backed expertise |
| Gemini | Google users | Integrated search | AI Overviews evolve rapidly | Own high-intent informational content |
| Perplexity | Researchers | Cited answers | Smaller audience | Earn authoritative citations |
Why Claude is harder to track
Unlike traditional search, many Claude interactions never generate a website visit. Procurement teams analyse proposals, executives upload board papers and marketers compare suppliers inside long-form conversations. Those recommendations can influence purchasing decisions without appearing in referral analytics.
The real challenge: measuring influence, not clicks
Traditional SEO metrics remain valuable, but they no longer tell the whole story. Brands increasingly need to understand whether they are being mentioned, cited and recommended by AI systems before users ever reach their website.
Five practical actions for brands
- Audit how your brand appears across multiple AI platforms, not just ChatGPT.
- Create comprehensive resources that answer genuine customer questions.
- Support important claims with evidence, data and trustworthy sources.
- Keep key commercial information consistent across your website and trusted third-party sources.
- Measure AI visibility independently from referral traffic wherever possible.
Frequently asked questions
No. The evidence suggests users increasingly use different AI assistants for different tasks.
No. Focus on creating authoritative content that all major AI platforms can understand and trust.
Only partially. Many influential conversations happen without generating a click.
Frontier15’s perspective
The rise of Claude is not really a story about Claude. It is proof that AI discovery is diversifying. The winning brands won’t chase individual platforms or algorithms. They’ll become consistently credible wherever AI systems look for answers. That is the essence of Generative Engine Optimisation: building authority that travels with your brand, regardless of which AI your customers choose tomorrow.
About the author
What we do
Frontier15 helps brands achieve visibility in the era of AI search, creating content strategies that make your expertise discoverable and trusted by both people and machines. Get in touch and ask us how we can map a GEO-informed content strategy that helps future-proof your brand.