{"id":1837,"slug":"gap-no-single-authoritative-aio-prevalence-number","title":"GAP — AI Overview prevalence has no single authoritative number; independent (Pew 18% Mar 2025) vs vendor (16–48%, 2025–26) figures diverge by definition and sample","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["measurement","editorial-discipline","ai-overview-prevalence"],"reference_body":"**Gap:** **AI Overview prevalence has no single authoritative number** — independent (Pew 18%, Mar 2025) and vendor (16–48%, 2025–26) figures diverge by definition and sample. Always cite as a **rising range**, not a point estimate.\n\n**Source:** Synthesis of [[pew-18-percent-google-searches-ai-summary-march-2025]], [[semrush-aio-prevalence-6-49-24-61-15-69-2025]], [[brightedge-48-percent-tracked-queries-feb-2026]], [[conductor-aio-25-11-percent-2026]], [[reconciliation-aio-prevalence-pew-vs-vendor-trackers-definitional-gap]].\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (gap-in-evidence).\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Editorial-discipline rule for the brief. Pair with [[rule-cite-pew-as-anchor-vendor-trackers-as-range]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"reconciliation-aio-prevalence-pew-vs-vendor-trackers-definitional-gap","title":"Reconciliation: the 16% / 25% / 48% AI-prevalence gap is largely definitional — different keyword samples, \"tracked queries\" vs all queries, niche / long-tail inclusion","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-website-as-working-surface-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the website as a working surface of the business — four capabilities, AI-citation decoupling, freshness as a real signal (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-cite-pew-as-anchor-vendor-trackers-as-range","title":"R6 — Cite Pew as the AI-prevalence anchor; cite vendor trackers (Semrush / BrightEdge / Conductor) as a range; never cite a single vendor as the level","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:17.762Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:17.762Z"}