Nearly half of active AI users say they have discovered a brand or service for the first time through an AI-generated answer.
That figure rises to 59% among Gen Z.
For brands, the significance isn’t simply that AI search is growing. It’s that discovery itself is beginning to happen inside AI-generated responses rather than traditional search results.
To better understand this shift, we conducted a study of 1,000 active AI users through Talker Research. The research explored how consumers engage with AI-generated answers, how those answers influence brand discovery and decision-making, and the role trust plays in AI-mediated search experiences.
The findings point to a growing shift in how people find, evaluate and engage with brands online.
AI is playing a bigger role in consumer decisions
Our research found that two-thirds (66%) of respondents are using AI tools more than they were a year ago, with younger audiences showing the fastest growth.
At the same time, six in ten (60%) agree AI-generated answers directly influence their decisions. Among Gen Z, that figure rises to 75%, compared with 46% among Baby Boomers.
Trust is also moving in one direction. Nearly two-thirds (64%) say their trust in AI has increased over the past 12 months, including 28% who say it has increased significantly. Just 8% say their trust has declined.
Taken together, the findings suggest AI-generated answers are becoming a more influential part of the consumer discovery journey.
But the research also highlights another important trend: people are paying attention to where those answers come from.
Sources matter more than many brands realize
Audiences are also not consuming AI answers passively. Six in ten (60%) always or often pay attention to the sources referenced in AI-generated responses.
More notably, 58% say a brand cited as a source in an AI answer appears more trustworthy than one that is not mentioned. Faced with two brands offering similar products or services, audiences are also more likely to trust the brand referenced in an AI-generated answer (34%) than the one that is not (24%).
The findings suggest that visibility within AI-generated responses is becoming closely linked to perceptions of trust, authority and credibility.
And repeated visibility appears to matter too.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) say they are more likely to engage with brands they see referenced repeatedly across multiple AI-generated answers.
For brands, this raises an important question: what determines which organizations are repeatedly surfaced and cited in AI-generated answers in the first place?
The attribution challenge
The question for PR teams is no longer whether AI visibility matters (it clearly does) but why so many campaigns generating significant earned media coverage still fail to meaningfully show up when it comes to AI measurement.
Tim Haslam, CEO of Talker, suggests the answer is structural. It’s not just about gaining widespread coverage but ensuring the brand becomes a credible, repeated source for AI-generated responses.
“The assumption that strong media coverage alone automatically translates into AI discovery is one of the most common and potentially most expensive mistakes we’re seeing right now,” says Haslam. “Most teams can tell you exactly how many pieces of coverage a campaign achieved. Very few can tell you whether they’re appearing in the AI answers their audiences are actually receiving.”
This creates a growing challenge for comms teams. Earned media remains highly influential, but AI systems hugely favor surfacing the publisher over the organizations that created the insight or expertise behind the story.
“Brands are doing a lot of heavy lifting (commissioning research, developing insights, generating stories) but often publishers capture much of the AI visibility,” says Haslam. “If a campaign isn’t structured in a way AI systems can properly understand and attribute, the visibility becomes temporary for brands rather than cumulative.”
Building authority over time
Haslam argues the industry is now splitting into two models of AI visibility.
The first is campaign-driven: short-term spikes created by news coverage that can then fade as the news cycle moves on.
The second is built by compounding authority: brands creating structured, attributable source material that AI systems repeatedly return to over time.
AI systems are designed to retrieve and reinforce sources they repeatedly encounter with confidence and consistency, which means authority grows cumulatively. It’s the principle behind Talker’s five-stage framework designed to help brands build persistent AI citation visibility over time rather than relying solely on individual campaign spikes.
“Most PR campaigns are still designed to create impact at the moment they launch,” Haslam adds. “AI systems reward sources they can repeatedly reference with confidence. The future value of earned media depends not just on distribution, but on whether campaigns are built to reinforce a brand’s authority as a source.”
What this means for brands
The findings do not suggest that earned media is becoming less important. If anything, they reinforce its value. But they do point to a broader shift in how visibility is created, retained and reinforced over time.
For brands, that may mean:
- Creating original research, data and expert-led content that can act as primary source material.
- Publishing content in structured formats that support attribution and discoverability.
- Building consistent topical authority rather than relying solely on individual campaigns.
- Measuring whether brands appear within AI-generated answers, not just whether coverage was achieved.
For communications teams, the challenge is becoming less about generating a single moment of attention and more about ensuring brands are recognised as credible sources of expertise over time.
As Haslam puts it:
“Earned media remains as essential as it’s ever been,” says Haslam. “But the industry has historically geared towards temporary spikes in visibility. AI systems reward authority that compounds. The teams that create the most value over the next few years will be the ones that understand the difference.”
Key findings: AI search, trust and brand discovery study (April 2026)
- 45% have discovered a brand or service for the first time through an AI-generated answer
- 59% of Gen Z have discovered a brand through an AI-generated answer
- 66% are using AI more than they were a year ago
- 60% agree AI answers directly influence their decisions
- 75% of Gen Z say AI influences their decisions, versus 46% of Baby Boomers
- 64% say their trust in AI has increased over the last 12 months, including 28% who say it has increased a lot.
- 8% say their trust in AI has declined
- 60% always or often pay attention to the sources cited in AI answers
- 58% say brands cited in AI answers appear more trustworthy
- 69% of Gen Z say brands cited in AI answers appear more trustworthy
Faced with similar brands, audiences are more likely to trust the one cited in an AI answer (34%) than one that is not (24%) - 63% are more likely to engage with brands they see referenced repeatedly across AI-generated answers
Research methodology:
We are Talker surveyed 1,000 Americans who are active AI users (defined as simply as someone who uses the AI overview in Google when they search for something). The survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Apr. 17 and Apr. 27, 2026.
To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.