Most AI insurance searches mention no brand, Somantra says

Somantra’s May 2026 AI Search Visibility Report found that 70% of detailed insurance questions asked on Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT returned no brand mention. The report also found that a small set of brands dominates the queries that do name a brand, creating a visibility gap for insurers.

Why it matters: - Detailed insurance questions on AI search often produce no brand at all, leaving a large share of consumer intent up for grabs. - The brands that do appear are increasingly concentrated at the top, making early visibility in AI answers more valuable. - The findings point to a shift in how insurers may win attention as consumers rely more on AI-generated responses.

What happened: - Somantra released its May 2026 AI Search Visibility Report in June 2026. - The report analyzed 34,278 real consumer conversations across Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT. - The dataset referenced 20 Australian insurance brands. - Somantra found that 70% of detailed, long-tail insurance questions produced zero brand mentions. - The report said this applied to high-intent questions such as how to claim pet insurance for an overseas trip and which discounts apply to insuring a new car.

The details: - On ChatGPT, three brands accounted for 50% of insurance mentions. - On ChatGPT, five brands accounted for 60% of mentions. - On ChatGPT, nine brands accounted for 90% of mentions. - On Google AI Overviews, four brands accounted for 50% of mentions. - On Google AI Overviews, eleven brands accounted for 90% of mentions. - Across 4,380 queries where both engines named at least one brand, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT recommended the same top brand 27.9% of the time in May. - That same-brand match rate was up from 23.7% in March. - Somantra’s report says the two platforms still recommend different brands in roughly seven of every ten matching queries. - Somantra said the full whitespace and concentration analysis is available in the May 2026 report at the May 2026 report.

Between the lines: - The report suggests two forces are happening at once: brandless answers are leaving room for new entrants, while branded answers are consolidating around a small group of winners. - The platform disagreement matters because insurers may need to optimize for more than one AI search engine to maintain visibility. - Arun Prasad said the brandless responses represent a market gap where structured content on the right sources could place a brand inside the AI answer. - Arun Prasad said the window is closing and that brands waiting for AI search to mature are giving away ground to faster movers.

What's next: - Somantra says brands that publish the right content now can capture more of the long-tail insurance queries that AI tools currently answer without naming a brand. - Insurers are likely to face more pressure to build content for AI search visibility as the category becomes more competitive. - Somantra’s brand-level platform agreement table is part of the May 2026 report.