ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google's AI surfaces all launched around the same time, so most marketers built one AI search strategy to cover them all. This week, Michael argues these platforms have grown too different for one playbook and explains how to pick which ones deserve their own strategy.

In this episode:

• What every AI platform rewards: pages AI crawlers can read and third-party mentions of your brand
• Gemini's most-cited sources overlap more with ChatGPT's than with Google's own AI Mode or AI Overviews
• Why visibility tools and surveys can't tell you which platforms your buyers use, and three ways to resource AI search
• Why Google surfaces come first: AI Overviews appear in over 40% of searches, AI Mode passed a billion monthly users, and nearly six in 10 consumers double-check AI answers on Google
• How to pick your second platform: corporate spend data points B2B brands to Claude, while Pew keeps ChatGPT the B2C front-runner

Key sources are below. Find the complete list of links on the episode page:

https://victorious.com/podcast/which-ai-platform-to-optimize/

Chapter Headings

[00:01:11] This week in search: Search Console platform properties roll out worldwide

[00:03:52] Why a whole category of AI search got treated as one channel

[00:06:06] AI is not a monolith

[00:09:22] What every AI platform has in common: page rendering and third-party mentions

[00:11:52] Where the platforms diverge: training data, live search, and citation overlap

[00:13:36] Claude's brand-owned citations and Perplexity's moving target

[00:15:37] Why the same platform won't answer the same way twice

[00:17:07] Why your visibility tools can't tell you where your buyers are

[00:18:36] Three credible surveys, three different numbers

[00:19:58] Three ways to resource an AI search strategy

[00:23:34] Why Google surfaces come first, and the case for AI Mode

[00:28:08] Picking a second platform: B2B, B2C, and citation pools

[00:34:28] Four takeaways

Sources

Google Search Central Blog, "Platform properties roll out globally," July 29, 2026, https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/07/platform-properties-social-video-guide

Victorious, "Quarterly Search Report," 2026, https://victorious.com/quarterly-search-report/

Ramp, "AI Index," June 26, 2026, https://ramp.com/data/ai-index-june-2026

Pew Research Center, "How Americans' Opinions and Use of AI Differ by Age," June 17, 2026, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/how-opinions-and-use-of-ai-differ-by-age/

Google, "Q2 2026 Earnings Call: Remarks from Our CEO," July 22, 2026, https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/message-ceo/alphabet-earnings-q2-2026/

Related Episodes

• AI Search Right Now

  https://victorious.com/podcast/ai-search-right-now/

• How Do AI Platforms Affect Your Brand Reputation? https://victorious.com/podcast/brand-reputation/
• The Q2 2026 Quarterly Search Report https://victorious.com/podcast/q2-2026-quarterly-search-report/