What we are learning about AI answers
Papers and field notes from the Branly research desk. Written from our own measurements, with the method and the sample size on every page.
Indians use ChatGPT less to look things up than the world does
OpenAI's own data shows about one in six ChatGPT messages from India is someone looking something up, against one in five in the US. Advice is India's biggest use. What that means for where Indian brands need to be named.
News
Reddit says AI Mode sends it no traffic. AI Mode cites it most.
Reddit lost more than 1 million search referrals a week in October and blamed Google's AI Mode. The same AI Mode cites Reddit more than any other site. What a Reddit thread now earns a brand, and what it does not.
Google says AI Mode earns less, and India gets its ads now
Google told investors on 28 October 2026 that a question asked in AI Mode earns less than a classic search, and the same day began scaling ads inside AI Mode in India and nine other countries. What that means for brands whose answers now share the screen with a paid slot.
Google's Search growth slowed. AI is part of the reason.
Alphabet had its worst day on the stock market since 2004. Search still grew 12%, but more slowly than before, while people search more than ever. Google named AI Mode as one reason.