Big Brands Dominate AI Search Rankings In Travel Categories
Top brands lead in AI search rankings for travel, but smaller sites have opportunities in inspiration and subjective queries. BrightEdge data shows big brands' dominance varies by sector and query type.
Original reporting · searchenginejournal.com
Original: “Big Brands Dominate AI Search But Leave Openings For Smaller Sites via @sejournal, @martinibuster”
Read “Big Brands Dominate AI Search But Leave Openings For Smaller Sites via @sejournal,…” at Search Engine Journal →
How this was written. Awesome B2B wrote this article with a language model from Search Engine Journal’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Search Engine Journal’s report
- Big brands dominate AI search rankings in travel categories, but smaller brands have opportunities in inspiration and subjective queries.
- Booking platforms appear in 78% of budget-related Google AI Overviews answers, making it a challenging area for smaller brands to compete.
- Smaller brands can compete in areas like inspiration and subjectivity, where human experience and judgment are valued, by providing unique human insights and subjectivity.
New research from BrightEdge reveals that top brands in travel categories are dominating the rankings in both ChatGPT and AI Overviews, according to Search Engine Journal. The data shows that well-known brands are more likely to be chosen by consumers, leading to brand loyalty. This is consistent with the idea behind advertising, where the more well-known a product is, the more likely it is to be chosen.
The BrightEdge data highlights the dominance of big brands in their respective sectors, with American Airlines, Royal Caribbean, and Expedia leading their categories on both Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT. However, the data also shows that smaller brands may have an opportunity to compete in areas such as inspiration and subjective queries, where human experience and judgment are valued.
The research found that booking platforms appear in 78% of budget-related Google AI Overviews answers, compared to 17% of other answers. Expedia appears in 44% of budget-related answers, indicating that price-focused questions are an important area for booking platforms to track. This suggests that smaller brands may struggle to compete in these areas.
AI search does not link out to sites with rankings in the same way that classic search does, which is why BrightEdge refers to these figures as share of voice rather than rankings. The data measures appearances among tracked AI answers because AI does not feature traditional ranking positions. This difference in how AI search works may create opportunities for smaller brands to appear in search results.
The BrightEdge data also shows that inspiration questions, which require human experience and subjectivity, are less dominated by big brands. This creates an opening for sites like Reddit and YouTube, as well as travel blogs and smaller travel-related sites, to provide unique human insights and subjectivity. Search Engine Journal reported that platforms like YouTube and Reddit are more prominent in inspiration questions.
The key to breaking into a niche is to grow awareness of a brand and build trust, which can be influenced by user behavior signals. BrightEdge observes that categories like hotels, airlines, booking platforms, and cruise lines are dominated by big brands, but smaller brands can still compete in areas like inspiration and subjectivity. The door to ranking is through expertise and authoritativeness, which can be achieved through smart and aggressive content strategies.
Questions and answers
Why do big brands dominate AI search rankings in travel categories?
Big brands are more well-known and trusted by consumers, leading to brand loyalty, which is consistent with the idea behind advertising.
Where do smaller brands have opportunities to compete in AI search rankings?
Smaller brands have opportunities to compete in areas like inspiration and subjective queries, where human experience and judgment are valued.
How can smaller brands break into a niche and compete with big brands?
The key to breaking into a niche is to grow awareness of a brand and build trust, which can be influenced by user behavior signals and achieved through smart and aggressive content strategies.
