AUGUST 10, 2026 — Forbes recently cited original research from Seer Interactive in a Council Post about the decline of the click and how brands can survive the new Google search experience. As brand websites lose traffic to zero-click search, a Seer study found that having profiles on review sites like Trustpilot and G2 can influence AI visibility.
We found that brands with active review profiles on sites like Trustpilot see a median AI citation rate of 75% — while brands without profiles see a citation rate of 1%. Even having a basic profile on a review site can impact a brand's likelihood of being cited by AI platforms: we found a ~53% jump in citations.
In a study of 25 million links, Muck Rack found that 84% of all AI citations are attributed to third-party sites. External validation is key: your brand is more likely to be cited by AI if you're mentioned in earned media or third-party validation, like review sites.
Most brands are seeing extreme drops in traffic thanks to zero-click search — making it all the more important to increase brand visibility in AI responses, AI Overviews, and other AI platforms. But AI citations can be tricky and change rapidly, so spend time where data suggests you'll see an impact.
Per our research, one easy way to increase your visibility is by creating and maintaining brand profiles on whichever review sites are relevant for your brand (Trustpilot, G2, BBB, Capterra, Yelp, etc.).
Another thing you can do is make sure when AI mentions your brand, what it's claiming is accurate. That's why we recommend doing the foundational work of building a brand canon before devoting too much time to optimizing for specific AI search terms. Our teammate John walks through what a brand canon is, why it matters, and how to build your own in his recent blog.
Check out our research on review sites in AI citations: Study of 800K Responses: How Review Profiles Shape Brand Presence in AI Search
Read the Forbes article: Making Google's New Search Work for You