FID study reveals low overlap between Google rankings and AI citations

A study conducted by FID Co., Ltd. using its Genview tool reveals a significant gap between traditional search engine optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Analyzing 450 queries across 15 industries, the research found that the overlap between websites ranking in Google's top 10 and the URLs actually cited by AI models is relatively low.

Specifically, the domain overlap rate was 13.9% for ChatGPT and 29.0% for Gemini, resulting in a combined average overlap of only 25.0%. In all surveyed industries, the overlap remained below 50%. In some instances, such as in the SaaS industry, Gemini cited 20 URLs that did not match any of the top 10 Google search results.

These findings suggest that high rankings in traditional search engines do not guarantee visibility within AI-generated responses. Experts note that while SEO and GEO share some commonalities, they require distinct strategies to ensure brand presence in the evolving AI search landscape.