632 tests find no reliable link between AI search visibility and branded or direct traffic
lilyraynyc · x · 2026-10-23
Kevin Indig ran 632 tests across four brands to see if gains in AI search visibility show up weeks later in branded search or direct traffic. A 0.72 correlation with direct traffic looked promising, but time-shifted control checks showed the data didn't hold — 3 of 19 mismatched pairings produced similar correlations, suggesting noise. A consistent relationship would have offered a proxy for AI-driven delayed visits, but no reliable one emerged.
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