March 23, 202620 min read

Google AI Mode: Which Brands Achieve 100% Visibility — GEO Scout Data

Google AI Mode study across 5 niches in the Russian market: EdTech, E-commerce, FinTech, travel, hosting. Which brands achieve 100% Share of Voice and top positions. Comparison with classic Google Search. GEO Scout data, March 2026.

Vladislav Puchkov

Founder of GEO Scout, GEO optimization expert

Google is gradually transforming search into a conversation. AI Mode is no longer an experiment — it's a full-fledged mode available to millions of users. Instead of ten blue links, users get a single detailed response with recommendations, source links, and clear brand ranking.

For marketers, this means a new reality: appearing in a Google AI Mode response matters more than ranking in classic search results. Because the user gets a ready answer and doesn't scroll further.

At GEO Scout, we monitor Google AI Mode daily alongside 8 other AI providers. In this study — a complete analysis of brand visibility in AI Mode across 5 niches: EdTech, E-commerce, FinTech, travel, and hosting. Which brands achieve 100% visibility, who ranks at the top, and how AI Mode differs from everything we're used to.

What Is Google AI Mode and Why It Changes the Rules

Google AI Mode is a conversational search mode where AI generates a detailed response to the user's query. Unlike Google AI Overview (a brief summary above search results), AI Mode is a full interface with several key differences:

• Detailed responses. AI Mode generates thorough text with explanations, comparisons, and reasoning — not a brief summary, but a complete answer to the question.
• Domain citation. AI Mode links to specific domains as information sources. Skillbox achieves domain citation of 50% — every other response contains a link to skillbox.ru.
• Direct recommendations. AI Mode doesn't just list brands — it recommends. Aviasales gets a recommendation rate of 50% — in half of responses, AI Mode directly suggests using it.
• Strict selection. In classic search, there are 10 results on the first page. In AI Mode — 3-5 brands. Getting on the list is harder, but the value of each mention is higher.

Why is this critical for business? According to analysts, the share of users utilizing AI search modes grows by 15-20% per quarter. A user who gets an answer in AI Mode doesn't return to classic results. More on how AI is changing search behavior — in the article what is AI search.

Research Methodology

Data collected by the GEO Scout platform in March 2026.

Parameters:

Metrics we analyze:

• Share of Voice (SoV) — percentage of responses where a brand is mentioned. 100% means the brand appears in every AI Mode response for a given niche. More details — in the article what is Share of Voice in AI.
• Avg position — the brand's average position in the response. Closer to 1 means higher in the list. On why position matters more than frequency — in the article why the first position matters most.
• Domain citation — percentage of responses where AI links to the brand's domain as a source. More details — in the article Domain Citation Rate: which brands AI cites directly.
• Recommendation rate — percentage of responses with a direct brand recommendation. On the difference between a mention and a recommendation — in the article recommendations vs mentions.

EdTech: Skillbox — the Absolute AI Mode Leader

EdTech is the niche where Google AI Mode shows the greatest difference from other providers. Skillbox achieves a unique combination: 100% SoV, the best position, and record domain citation.

What stands out:

Skillbox — 100% SoV with position 1.57 and domain citation 50%. This means three things simultaneously: the brand is mentioned in every AI Mode response, ranks first or second in the list, and in half of cases AI Mode links to skillbox.ru as an information source. No other EdTech brand has this combination in any AI provider.

Netology — 96.7% SoV with position 1.86. Near-complete coverage and second position. For comparison: in ChatGPT, Netology gets significantly less coverage. Google AI Mode knows the Russian EdTech market significantly better than Western providers — more on this in the article ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini.

SkillFactory — 80% with position 3.13. Third position and stable presence. Meanwhile, ChatGPT mentions SkillFactory in only 6.7% of responses. Google AI Mode gives SkillFactory 12 times more visibility than ChatGPT.

Position 1.57 for Skillbox — is one of the best scores across all providers and all niches. AI Mode doesn't just know Skillbox — it puts it first. This is the result of strong content presence: expert articles, courses with detailed descriptions, active SEO promotion. AI Mode relies on Google's search index, and Skillbox dominates it.

E-commerce: Two Brands with 100% Visibility

E-commerce is the only niche where two brands simultaneously achieve 100% SoV in Google AI Mode. But their positions are radically different.

The Yandex Market paradox: 100% SoV, but position 7.30. AI Mode mentions it in every response but places it at the end of the list. This is a classic case where mention rate doesn't equal actual visibility — the brand is formally present, but the user doesn't read that far. More on the significance of position — in the article why the first position matters most.

Wildberries — 93.3% SoV, but position 1.39. When AI Mode mentions Wildberries, it places it first. Position 1.39 means that in the vast majority of responses, Wildberries is at the top of the list. This is the best position among all e-commerce brands in AI Mode.

Ozon — the golden middle: 100% SoV and position 1.97. Full coverage plus second position — the optimal combination. AI Mode perceives Ozon as a universal marketplace relevant to any shopping query.

Megamarket — 96.7% SoV and position 2.31. Close to full coverage with a good position. Google AI Mode knows Megamarket significantly better than other AI providers — for comparison, its average SoV across all providers is 62.45%. AI Mode gives Megamarket 1.5 times more visibility.

Conclusion: In e-commerce, Google AI Mode mentions nearly all major marketplaces but ranks them very differently. Wildberries and Ozon get top positions, while Yandex Market gets presence without priority. Full e-commerce brand rankings — in a separate article.

FinTech: Sberbank Shows Better Results Than Average

FinTech is a niche where Google AI Mode demonstrates excellent knowledge of the Russian banking market. All major banks achieve SoV above 90%.

Sberbank — 96.7% SoV with position 4.38. Interesting fact: Sberbank's average position across all AI providers is 4.17. In Google AI Mode, it gets 4.38 — a comparable result, which is atypical. For many other providers, Sberbank ranks significantly lower. AI Mode treats Sberbank as a mandatory element in any response about banking services, but not as the top choice.

Alfa-Bank — 93.3% SoV with position 2.57. The best position among banks in AI Mode. Google considers Alfa-Bank one of the first options for banking services. Position 2.57 means a steady second-third place in every response.

T-Bank — 90% SoV with position 2.78. High coverage and good position. T-Bank and Alfa-Bank compete for second-third position in AI Mode, leaving Sberbank the role of "mandatory mention" closer to the end of the list.

Comparison with ChatGPT: ChatGPT gives Sberbank position 1-2 — placing it first. AI Mode — at position 4-5. This is a fundamental difference: ChatGPT perceives Sberbank as the dominant brand, while Google AI Mode treats it as one of many. For FinTech marketers, the signal is clear: strategy for each provider should be distinct.

Full FinTech rankings — in a separate article.

Travel: Aviasales with Record Recommendation Rate

Travel is the niche where Google AI Mode shows the highest recommendation rates. AI Mode doesn't just mention travel brands — it actively recommends them.

Aviasales — 93.3% SoV with recommendation rate 50%. Every other AI Mode response contains a direct recommendation of Aviasales. This isn't just "Aviasales is one of the flight search services" but rather "we recommend using Aviasales to find cheap flights." A 50% recommendation rate is one of the highest figures among all brands and all niches in Google AI Mode.

However, position 5.62 means Aviasales isn't mentioned first in the list. AI Mode generates long responses listing many services and recommends Aviasales somewhere in the middle. The high recommendation rate compensates for the lower position — a recommendation draws attention regardless of placement.

Yandex Travel — 80% SoV with position 1.92. When AI Mode mentions Yandex Travel, it places it in the first-second spot. Position 1.92 with 80% SoV is a strong result: the brand doesn't appear in every response, but when it does — it dominates.

Recommendation rate comparison across providers: Aviasales receives recommendations from AI Mode (50%), Grok (70%), and Gemini (76.7%). These three providers are the most active in recommending travel brands. ChatGPT and Claude are significantly more cautious with direct recommendations.

Full travel brand rankings — in a separate article.

Hosting: Timeweb — the Best Position Across All Niches

Hosting is the niche where Google AI Mode delivers absolute records in positioning. Timeweb with position 1.43 is one of the best results across all brands in all AI providers.

Timeweb — 100% SoV, position 1.43, domain citation 30%. A triple crown: full coverage, first position, and domain citation. Position 1.43 means that in the vast majority of responses, Timeweb is placed first. Domain citation 30% — AI Mode links to timeweb.com as an information source in every third response.

For comparison: across all providers, Timeweb has an average mention rate of 89.80% and domain citation of 18.78%. Google AI Mode gives it both full coverage and significantly higher citation.

Beget — 96.7% SoV with position 2.10. A solid second. Google AI Mode forms a clear hierarchy: Timeweb first, Beget second. Position 2.10 means a stable second place without deviations.

AdminVPS — 83.3% SoV. A notable result for a brand that ChatGPT doesn't mention at all (0%). Google AI Mode knows AdminVPS and includes it in 83.3% of responses. This illustrates the fundamental difference between providers: absence from ChatGPT doesn't mean absence from AI search overall.

Cloud.ru — 63.3% SoV. The cloud provider gets noticeably less visibility than classic hosting companies. AI Mode clearly separates hosting and cloud services — and prioritizes hosting in responses to commercial queries.

Full hosting brand rankings — in a separate article.

Summary Table: Google AI Mode Leaders Across All Niches

The overall picture — top brands in each niche according to GEO Scout data:

Three patterns:

1. AI Mode delivers better positions. Timeweb 1.43, Skillbox 1.57, Wildberries 1.39, Ozon 1.97 — these are positions close to absolute first. Most other providers deliver worse positions.

2. 100% SoV is a reality, not an exception. Four brands achieve 100% coverage in AI Mode. For comparison: in ChatGPT, 100% SoV is rare even for the largest brands.

3. Recommendation and citation are AI Mode bonuses. Aviasales 50% recommendation, Skillbox 50% citation, Timeweb 30% citation — AI Mode doesn't just mention; it recommends and cites sources.

Google AI Mode vs Classic Google Search: What Changed

The emergence of AI Mode doesn't just add a new channel — it fundamentally changes the distribution of user attention.

Results Compression

In classic Google Search, the first page has 10 results. In Google AI Mode — 3-5 brands in a response. This means the probability of appearing in the visible zone has been cut in half. If previously a brand at position 7-8 could still get traffic, in AI Mode brands at 5+ are effectively invisible.

Position Became More Important

In classic search, the difference between positions 1 and 3 is significant, but both are visible. In AI Mode, a brand at position 1 (Timeweb 1.43, Wildberries 1.39) gets disproportionately more attention than a brand at position 5-7 (Yandex Market 7.30, Aviasales 5.62).

Domain Citation — A New Factor

In classic search, a website link is a search result — one of ten. In AI Mode, domain citation is a link to the AI's knowledge source. When AI Mode links to skillbox.ru with 50% citation, that's not a link in a results list — it's an authoritative source the response relies on. User trust in such a link is higher.

Recommendation — A New Metric

In classic search, Google doesn't recommend — it ranks. In AI Mode, an explicit recommendation appears: "we recommend Aviasales for finding flights." This is a qualitatively different conversion level — the user receives not a list to choose from, but a ready solution.

Domain Citation in Google AI Mode: Who Gets Cited and Why

Domain citation in Google AI Mode works differently than in other AI providers. Perplexity cites nearly all sources (HostingHUB — 90% citation). AI Mode is selective.

Who Gets Citation in AI Mode

Two citation patterns in AI Mode:

1. Expert content. Skillbox achieves 50% citation thanks to a massive content strategy: blog, media, educational articles. AI Mode uses this content as a knowledge source when generating responses about online education.

2. Technical documentation. Timeweb gets 30% citation thanks to detailed technical documentation, tutorials, and guides. AI Mode links to timeweb.com when answering technical questions about hosting.

Comparison with Perplexity

Perplexity is the leader in domain citation among all providers. But AI Mode and Perplexity take fundamentally different approaches:

For brands, this means: getting into Google AI Mode citation is harder, but the value of each citation is higher. More about citation across providers — in the article Domain Citation Rate: which brands AI cites directly.

Google AI Mode vs Google AI Overview: Don't Confuse Them

Google AI Mode and Google AI Overview are two different products that are often confused. The difference is fundamental:

The key difference: AI Mode replaces search, AI Overview supplements search. When a user activates AI Mode, they don't see classic results — only the AI response. When AI Overview appears, the user sees both the summary and the links.

For GEO strategy, this means: optimizing for AI Mode is more important because it fully controls the user's attention.

Recommendations: How to Optimize Visibility in Google AI Mode

Based on GEO Scout data across 5 niches — what AI Mode leaders have in common and how to replicate their results.

1. SEO as the Foundation

Google AI Mode relies on Google's search index. Brands with strong SEO presence automatically gain an advantage. Timeweb, Skillbox, Ozon — all of them dominate classic Google Search and carry that leadership into AI Mode.

What to do:

• Ensure high positions in classic search for target queries
• Optimize title, description, and H1 for target commercial prompts
• Maintain technical standards: loading speed, mobile version, Core Web Vitals

2. Expert Content for Domain Citation

Brands with domain citation (Skillbox 50%, Timeweb 30%) create content that AI uses as a knowledge source. These aren't promotional landing pages but expert materials.

What to do:

• Publish research, guides, technical reviews with unique data
• Create content that answers informational queries from your audience
• Use structured data: FAQ, HowTo, Article schema
• Regularly update content — AI Mode prefers fresh sources

3. Clear Positioning for Better Rank

Brands with the best positions (Timeweb 1.43, Wildberries 1.39, Skillbox 1.57) have clear positioning in their niche. AI Mode places the brand that is most relevant to the query first.

What to do:

• Define unique positioning and consistently communicate it across all channels
• Work on mentions on authoritative platforms: reviews, rankings, expert articles on independent resources
• Track how AI Mode describes your brand — and adjust positioning if the description doesn't match the desired image

4. Monitoring and Iteration

Visibility in Google AI Mode changes. Brands that monitor their metrics and iteratively optimize content gain an advantage.

What to do:

• Set up Google AI Mode monitoring through GEO Scout
• Compare AI Mode metrics with other providers — differences indicate growth opportunities
• Analyze which content gets citation and scale successful formats
• Read optimization recommendations in our blog: how to appear in AI recommendations and GEO lessons from ranking leaders

5. Multi-Provider Strategy

Google AI Mode is an important channel, but not the only one. AdminVPS gets 83.3% in AI Mode and 0% in ChatGPT. Sberbank — 96.7% in AI Mode with position 4.38, but position 1-2 in ChatGPT.

What to do:

• Don't optimize for just one provider — cover all 10 AI systems
• Strategy for each provider may differ: ChatGPT relies on English-language sources, AI Mode — on Google's search index, YandexGPT — on Russian-language content
• Use GEO Scout for monitoring all providers in one dashboard

What's Next: Google AI Mode Trends

Google AI Mode is in active development. Based on current data, several trends can be identified:

Growth in AI traffic share. The share of users utilizing AI Mode grows every quarter. As Google makes AI Mode more accessible and prominent in the interface, it will pull traffic from classic search results.

Strengthening domain citation. Google is interested in the reliability of AI responses. Domain citation is a mechanism that ensures transparency and verifiability. We expect citation rates to grow as AI Mode evolves.

Response personalization. Google possesses a massive amount of user behavior data. AI Mode will eventually personalize responses — and brand position will depend not only on overall authority but also on relevance to the specific user.

Convergence with Google Ads. It's a matter of time before Google integrates advertising into AI Mode. Brands that currently hold organic positions will have an advantage when the paid model arrives.

Conclusions

Google AI Mode is not just another AI provider. It's a new search experience from the world's largest search engine, gradually displacing classic results.

Key findings from the GEO Scout study:

• Four brands achieve 100% SoV in their niches: Skillbox (EdTech), Yandex Market and Ozon (E-commerce), Timeweb (hosting)
• Best positions among all providers: Timeweb 1.43, Wildberries 1.39, Skillbox 1.57, Ozon 1.97
• Domain citation works selectively: Skillbox 50%, Timeweb 30% — only brands with strong expert content get cited
• Recommendation rate higher than most providers: Aviasales receives 50% direct recommendations
• AI Mode knows the Russian market better than ChatGPT: SkillFactory 80% in AI Mode vs 6.7% in ChatGPT, AdminVPS 83.3% vs 0%

Brands that begin GEO optimization for Google AI Mode now will gain a competitive advantage for years to come. Monitor your visibility across all 10 AI providers, including Google AI Mode, on the GEO Scout platform. Public rankings for all niches — on the ratings page.

Not sure where to start with Google AI Mode optimization? The Command Center in GEO Scout automatically transforms monitoring data into a prioritized action plan — what content to create, where to strengthen presence, and what to fix on your site for each provider, including AI Mode.

Data for this article was collected by the GEO Scout platform in March 2026. Monitoring of 10 AI providers: ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overview, Grok, Perplexity, YandexGPT, and Alice AI. Data updates — daily.