The IDHL State of AI Search 2026 report just became the most-cited marketing study of the week. Here is what the numbers mean for plumbers, dentists, and every other service business.
Ido Cohen · Published 2026-10-12 · SEO & Search
The biggest marketing research study of the week just confirmed what a lot of service business owners have been ignoring: AI search is not coming — it is already generating real revenue, and the numbers are startling. IDHL's State of AI Search 2026 report, the single most-cited piece of marketing data this week according to coverage in Marketing Week and MediaPost, tracked 1.5 million AI search sessions across 175 websites and 20 industries over 13 months and found revenue attributable to AI search up 312–321%, transactions up 553%, and session volumes nearly fivefold. If you run a plumbing company, a dental practice, a law firm, or any other local service business, these are not abstract tech-industry numbers. They represent real customers who are already choosing which electrician to call, which med spa to book, and which financial advisor to hire — inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity — before they ever open a browser tab.
This is not a survey. It is behavioral data at scale.
According to figures reported by MediaPost and Marketing Week, IDHL's State of AI Search 2026 report analyzed 1.5 million AI search-engaged sessions across 175 websites and 20 different industries over a 13-month window. The findings: revenue from AI search visitors is up between 312% and 321% year-over-year, while transactions from AI search have climbed 553%. Session volumes grew nearly fivefold over the same 13 months and tripled in just the most recent quarter alone.
The report, authored by IDHL — a UK-based performance marketing agency — drew immediate coverage from Marketing Week, MediaPost, and the Anicca marketing intelligence blog, making it the most-cited marketing research piece of the week ending October 12, 2026. That kind of cross-outlet momentum means the story has real reach, and that your competitors in every service category are starting to read about it too.
Three numbers to fix in your head:
This is not a trend. It is already a revenue channel.
The 553% jump in transactions outrunning the 392% jump in sessions is the detail that should get your attention.
When more transactions happen than sessions would predict, it means the people arriving via AI search are further along in their decision-making. IDHL's organic search director Chris Shelbourn told MediaPost that AI-powered discovery is influencing higher-intent customer journeys, not just top-of-funnel research. In plain English: the person asking ChatGPT "who is the best HVAC company near me in Phoenix" is closer to booking than the person who typed the same words into Google three years ago. AI answers tend to narrow the field before the user clicks anywhere. If your business is named in that answer, you get a warm lead. If you are not named, you might as well not exist for that searcher.
Multiple independent studies back this up. BrightEdge data shows total referral traffic from AI platforms has grown roughly 73% in less than a year. Separate research shows AI-referred visitors spend significantly more time on sites and convert at higher rates than standard organic visitors. The quality of AI-generated traffic, when you earn it, is measurably better than cold organic clicks.
ChatGPT is dominant, but the market is fragmenting fast. That changes your strategy.
Right now, ChatGPT sends the lion's share of AI referral traffic. BrightEdge data from September 2026 puts ChatGPT's share of AI referral traffic at 95.1% — the highest point of the year — after climbing from a 2026 low of 89.5% in April. Statcounter data from August 2026 paints a similar picture: ChatGPT at 79.4% of AI chatbot referrals, followed by Google Gemini at 10.9%, Perplexity at 4.3%, Microsoft Copilot at 2.8%, and Claude at 2.6%.
Here is the catch: those percentages are converging. Similarweb data shows ChatGPT's share of worldwide generative AI web traffic has slid from roughly 76% a year ago to around 53% today, while Gemini has climbed past a quarter of all traffic and Claude has gone from a rounding error to the fastest-growing platform in the category. The IDHL report itself noted that while ChatGPT accounts for the overwhelming majority of AI search traffic today, the AI landscape is diversifying — and platforms like Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity all shape brand visibility through how their large language models find, interpret, and recommend information.
What this means practically:
The takeaway: you need to show up across the ecosystem, not just on one platform. A plumber who is well-represented in Google's local index but invisible on Reddit and third-party review sites will be cited by Gemini but missed by Perplexity.
Here is the stat that catches most service business owners off guard.
IDHL's Chris Shelbourn told MediaPost that users chose a Reddit result 23 billion times within Google searches last year, and that large language models cite dozens of third-party sources — Reddit heavily among them. That means when a homeowner asks ChatGPT "is [your business name] a good plumber?" or "what's the best dentist in Austin?", the AI frequently pulls from Reddit threads, Google reviews, Yelp, Houzz, Angi, and other community platforms to build its answer.
This matters for service businesses in a way that it does not matter nearly as much for, say, a B2B software company. Service businesses live and die on local reputation. If the Reddit threads and review platforms that AI models train on and cite include negative sentiment about your business, that will show up in AI answers. If they are absent or thin, the AI may simply not mention you at all.
What you can do:
This finding from the IDHL report is underreported, and it is directly actionable.
According to the IDHL data, AI search is beginning to follow the same seasonal demand patterns, category spikes, and shifts in consumer demand that have long shaped traditional search. That means AI-driven discovery in home services will spike in spring (HVAC tune-ups, landscaping, roofing inspections). Tax and financial advisory queries will peak in Q1. Dental and med spa bookings will see a pre-summer surge.
IDHL's Shelbourn told MediaPost that marketers can use this seasonality to plan content and optimize activity ahead of category peaks. For service businesses, that means you should not think of AI search optimization as a one-time setup task. It is an ongoing content and reputation program that needs to be timed like any other marketing calendar.
Seasonal AI Search Calendar for Service Businesses:
Start your AI-visible content push 4–6 weeks before each seasonal peak — the same lead time you would use for a Google Ads flight.
Most service business owners check Google Analytics, maybe look at Google Business Profile views, and call it a day. That is now insufficient.
The IDHL data makes a strong case that AI search is already a measurable source of traffic, transactions, and revenue — but only for businesses that can track it. The problem is that AI search referrals are frequently misattributed in standard analytics tools. Traffic from ChatGPT sometimes shows up as direct traffic. Referrals from Perplexity may show up with an incomplete referral string. Gemini traffic blends into Google organic.
To actually see what AI search is doing for your business, you need to:
1. Add UTM-tagged tracking URLs to any profiles or listings where you have control (Google Business Profile website link, Yelp, Houzz, etc.)
2. Create a dedicated segment in Google Analytics 4 that filters referral sources containing: chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, copilot.microsoft.com, gemini.google.com
3. Check your referral report monthly for any new AI platform domains appearing
4. Monitor "dark social" / direct traffic trends — a consistent rise in direct traffic alongside AI platform growth often signals untracked AI referrals
If you can not measure it, you can not manage it. And right now, most service businesses are flying blind on what is rapidly becoming their highest-converting traffic source.
You do not need a six-month content strategy. You need three actions this week.
1. Audit your AI search presence (30 minutes). Open ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Search for your service category in your city: "best [plumber / dentist / HVAC company / etc.] in [your city]." Note whether your business is mentioned. If it is not, note which competitors are. This is your baseline.
2. Update your Google Business Profile completely (1 hour). The IDHL data and platform coverage confirm that AI models — especially Google Gemini — pull heavily from Google's local index. Fill in every field: services, hours, photos, Q&A, the website link. Write a detailed business description (300+ words) that naturally includes your city, neighborhoods you serve, and the specific services you offer. This is the single highest-leverage action for most service businesses.
3. Get five new Google reviews this month. Not fake ones. Call your last 20 satisfied customers this week and ask directly. LLMs weight recency and volume when deciding which local businesses to recommend. A business with 12 reviews from 2023 will lose to a competitor with 40 reviews from 2026 in AI-generated recommendations. Every review you collect this month compounds over the next 12 months of AI search growth.
Optional but high-impact: brief your team (or your marketing person) to flag any client who mentions they found you through ChatGPT or an AI assistant. Track that manually if you have to. Even a handful of confirmed AI-sourced leads per month tells you whether your current presence is working.
The IDHL data is not a warning shot. The revenue is already happening — at competitor businesses who happen to show up in AI answers. The question is whether your business will be in those answers six months from now.
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What is AI search and how is it different from Google?
AI search refers to platforms like ChatGPT, Google's AI Mode and Gemini, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot that answer user questions using large language models rather than (or in addition to) returning a list of blue links. Instead of showing ten results and letting the user choose, AI search synthesizes an answer and may mention one to three specific businesses or sources. For service businesses, this means the visibility game has changed: being ranked #4 on a Google results page is very different from simply not being named in a ChatGPT answer.
Why are AI search transactions growing faster than AI search sessions?
According to the IDHL report data, transactions from AI search grew 553% while sessions grew roughly 392% over the same 13-month period — meaning each AI-referred visitor converts at a higher rate than the session growth alone would predict. The most credible explanation is intent: people using AI search to find a local service provider are typically further along in their decision-making than someone casually browsing Google. The AI answer has already done the comparison work for them; the user arrives at your site ready to act.
Does AI search optimization require completely different content than regular SEO?
Not entirely. The foundational signals — accurate business information, quality reviews, authoritative local content — overlap heavily between traditional SEO and AI search optimization. The key difference is that AI models rely more on third-party citations (reviews, Reddit mentions, industry directories) and less on your own website's keyword density. A service business with strong traditional SEO but thin third-party presence may outrank on Google but be invisible in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers. Both channels need attention.
Which AI platform should a service business focus on first?
Start with the one that also benefits your existing marketing: Google. Because Gemini and Google AI Mode draw from Google's search index and Google Business Profile data, every improvement you make for traditional local SEO — reviews, GBP completeness, local content — also improves your AI visibility on Google's platforms. Once that foundation is solid, shift attention to building third-party review and mention presence on sites that Perplexity and ChatGPT cite frequently: Google Reviews, Yelp, Reddit, and industry-specific directories.
How do I know if AI search is already sending me customers?
Check your Google Analytics 4 referral report for domains like chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, and gemini.google.com. Also check for an unexplained rise in direct traffic, which can include AI referrals that do not pass full referral strings. The most reliable method is to ask new leads directly during intake calls: "How did you find us?" Many customers who used ChatGPT or Gemini to find a service business will tell you if you ask — they often mention it because they found it novel.
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