Ahrefs studies 15M ChatGPT fan-out queries to map search behavior
Ahrefs analyzed 15 million fan-out queries from 66.6 million free, logged-out ChatGPT responses between August and September 2026. Only 14.4% of responses triggered a web search, with an average of 1.6 queries per search. The study found that ChatGPT prioritizes official brand sites for factual questions—like prices or specs—citing them in 84.4% of such cases. For comparison questions, citations…
What you can do with it
AI at Work →Track ChatGPT fan-out queries for your brand’s content gaps
What you get You can spot content gaps and track competitor citations.
Groups fan-out queries.
- Who for
- marketers
- Cost
- included in a tool you already have
- Effort
- minutes
- Already included in
- Brand Radar Enterprise plan
Use it for
- Spot content gaps
- Track competitor citations
- Optimize for AI searches
How to set it up · From the article
- Log in to Brand Radar and navigate to the AI responses report
- Filter by ChatGPT and your market, then select the ‘Fan-out queries’ column
- Enter your tracked prompts or category to analyze query patterns
- Export results to a spreadsheet for deeper review
Watch out Requires a paid Brand Radar Enterprise subscription
Not for everyone Enterprise subscription only
Ahrefs Brand Radar in the tool directory · 2 changes covered
Key points from the news
- ChatGPT searches the web in 14.4% of free, logged-out responses, averaging 1.6 queries per search
- Official brand sites dominate citations for factual questions (84.4%), while comparison queries rely more on third-party sites (68.3%)
- Partner publications now make up 12.5% of ChatGPT citations, up from 7.5% in March 2026
The story so far
3 episodes →- Ahrefs studies 15M ChatGPT fan-out queries to map search behaviorthis story
How ChatGPT Does Query Fan-Out (15 Million Queries Studied)
Ahrefs Blog · 12 October 2026
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This text was published by Ahrefs Blog and written by Louise Linehan. It is reproduced here with attribution so you can read it in full; the rights remain with the publisher. Read it at the source ↗
The headline, key points and digest above were generated by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources. Automated summaries can contain errors: the sources are the record. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Published by Martin K., who runs Digest AI and handles corrections.
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