AI cites the industry, but does it recommend its suppliers?
We're building Telescop, an AI Search Visibility and Demand Intelligence platform, and recently completed a research project on how AI systems represent B2B industrial companies.
We analyzed 500 queries across 150 selected companies in 10 Italian industrial sectors, observing ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, and Google AI Overview.
One finding surprised us:
In the surface treatments sector, 84.53% of responses included attributable sources, but only 2.02% mentioned at least one of the 15 companies in our selected panel, across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode.
This suggests an important distinction: AI systems can provide well-sourced information about an industry without necessarily surfacing the suppliers operating in it.
We're exploring how to measure not just AI visibility, but also which companies are considered and recommended.
Full research:
https://telescop.it/research/ai-search-b2b-industriale-italia/
Question for other AI founders: Are you measuring mentions, citations, recommendations, or something else when evaluating AI search visibility?