Why 39% of AI Systems Disagree on Brand Recommendations (And How GEO Bridges the Gap)

Why 39% of AI Systems Disagree on Brand Recommendations (And How GEO Bridges the Gap) Here’s a scenario: you’re relying on AI systems to boost your brand’s visibility. You’ve tested on ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, Claude, maybe even Perplexity. One AI recommends your company left, right, and centre, while another barely acknowledges your existence. Frustrating? Absolutely. But it’s no fluke, according to our data at Contxt , this kind of cross-provider divergence happens a staggering 39% of the time. Think about that for a second. Nearly four in ten prompts give conflicting answers based purely on which AI system generates them. If you’re banking on one platform to put your brand in front of potential customers, you might be missing out on opportunities elsewhere. That’s a problem. And it’s why Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), our methodology for improving brand visibility across multiple AI systems, is gaining traction. Let’s break it down. What’s Really Going On Here? When we started testing AI visibility tools across different platforms, the penny dropped quickly: these systems aren’t mirrors of each other. ChatGPT and Google AI Overview, for example, don’t just interpret prompts differently, they operate on fundamentally distinct architectures, data sources, and training strategies. So the brands that perform well on one might struggle, or outright disappear, on the other. Our dataset confirms this disparity. Across 2,641 prompts tested across 30 businesses, ChatGPT had a stellar mention rate of 74.4%, while Google AI Overview lagged at 44.1%, and Perplexity came in even lower at 40.6%. Claude, though tested less frequently, came out surprisingly strong at 77.1%. Related reading: this piece about emerging trends in ai visibility: what to expect in 2026 . Related reading: Why LLM Visibility Becomes a Revenue Lever in the Agent Era . Statistically, if your brand is visible on ChatGPT, it’s far from guaranteed to show up on Google AI, and vice versa. Graph com