When AI shapes the shortlist, being understood is part of being chosen.
Answer engine optimisation starts with understanding how discovery is changing. Here’s the evidence.
Explore the research ↓The shift, in numbers.
Six findings. Four research sources.
A closer look at what they mean for your brand.
01 / 06Adobe
AI is already a first stop.
One in four customers surveyed use AI as their primary source for information, purchase decisions or recommendations.
Adobe and Oxford Economics surveyed 4,000 customers globally in October–November 2025.
Vasa’s takeYour product story needs to make sense inside an answer, wherever the customer starts.
02 / 06Gartner
32%
Share of tech buyers using AI during buying
It’s part of the buying process.
Gartner reports that 32% of tech buyers use AI tools during buying.
Published January 2026. The public abstract concerns tech buyers; full methodology requires access to the report.
Vasa’s takeTrack comparison and evaluation questions as well as the questions that introduce a category.
03 / 06Pew Research Center
8%
With AI summary8%
Without AI summary15%
An answer can change the next click.
Google visits with an AI summary led to a traditional-result click 8% of the time, versus 15% without one.
Pew studied browsing from 900 US adults in March 2025. This is an observed association, not a causal experiment.
Vasa’s takeMeasure your presence inside answers alongside the visits that reach your website.
04 / 06Pew Research Center
Questions invite AI answers.
In Pew’s sample, 60% of Google queries beginning with a question word produced an AI summary.
The same US study examined March 2025 browsing, with search results collected again in April.
Vasa’s takeUse real buyer questions to find the content gaps hidden behind broad keyword rankings.
05 / 06Semrush
AI is becoming a bigger referrer.
ChatGPT’s outbound referrals grew 206% from January 2025 to January 2026 in Semrush’s US clickstream sample.
This measures referral growth, not total search share or a promised uplift for individual websites.
Vasa’s takeConnect answer visibility with referral and conversion data to see which journeys matter.
06 / 06Adobe
Preparation is still catching up.
Only 54% of surveyed organisations are preparing to optimise content for AI-powered discovery.
Adobe’s 2026 research included 3,000 executives and practitioners, surveyed in October–November 2025.
Vasa’s takeEstablish your baseline, resolve the most important gaps and keep measuring what changes.
These studies examine different audiences, products and periods. Read each result in its own context; together, they help frame what to measure.