The 27+ Ways People Find What They're Looking For — Simple Simon Consulting

The 27+ ways people find what they're looking for in 2026

Your 14-platform package covers the gold tier. Everything else is the wider ecosystem.

883M
ChatGPT
monthly users
750M
Gemini app
monthly users
2B
Google AI Overview
monthly users
100M+
Microsoft Copilot
monthly users
22M
Perplexity AI
monthly users
Why Google Gemini is the biggest opportunity in your package

Gemini is actually two platforms — and together they reach more people than anything else on earth

Most people think of Gemini as just a chatbot. But Google Gemini powers both the standalone AI app (750M users) and Google AI Overview — the AI answer box that appears at the top of every Google Search result. Google AI Overview alone reaches 2 billion people every month. That's every person who uses Google Search, whether they know they're using AI or not.

When your pillar pages are optimized correctly, you get cited in both surfaces simultaneously. That's why Google AI Overview is the single highest-leverage piece of the AI Search Dominance Package — and why proper schema markup, fresh content, and structured pillar pages are the foundation of everything we build.

750M Gemini app users
2B AI Overview users/month
2.75B combined Gemini reach
50% of Google searches show AI Overview
35% more clicks for cited brands
5x higher conversion than standard search
Included in your 14-platform package
High priority — add-on / social strategy
Awareness / secondary
1 — AI chatbots (package core) ~1.78B combined monthly users
ChatGPT
Largest AI chatbot worldwide
883M users
Google Gemini
Fastest-growing LLM — also powers AI Overview
750M users
Perplexity AI
Research-focused, always cites sources
22M users
Microsoft Copilot
Built into every Windows 11 PC + Edge browser
100M+ users
2 — Voice assistants + local AI (package core) Billions of active devices
Siri
iPhone / Mac / Watch
Google Assistant
Android / Google Home
Amazon Alexa
Echo devices, smart home
Apple CarPlay
In-car iOS
Android Auto
In-car Android
3 — Search engines + local (package core) Google AI Overview: 2B users/month
Google AI Overview
Top of every Google search — powered by Gemini. Appears in 50% of all searches.
2B users/month
Google Maps / GBP
Local "near me" queries
Bing Search
AI-integrated, Copilot-powered
LinkedIn AI
#2 most cited domain in AI search
11% of AI responses
4 — Social search (high priority — feeds AI + direct discovery) 1 in 3 people start here, not Google
YouTube
2nd most visited site on earth — top AI citation source for video
YouTube Shorts
Ingested by Gemini LLMs — 24-month AI authority pipeline
Feeds Gemini
Instagram
Google-crawlable since July 2025 — posts appear in search results
Facebook
Local groups, events, reviews
TikTok
40% of Gen Z search here first
Reddit
#1 most-cited domain across all AI platforms
Top AI source
Pinterest
Visual discovery
X / Twitter
Feeds Grok AI in real time
Nextdoor
Hyperlocal — "near me" community queries
Quora
Frequently cited by AI platforms
5 — Secondary / niche channels (awareness layer)
Podcasts
Audio discovery
Email newsletters
Subscriber reach
Apple Podcasts
Siri integration
Spotify
Podcast + music
Yelp / Angi
Review platforms
Grok (X AI)
Real-time X / Twitter data
DuckDuckGo
Privacy search
Business directories
Industry / niche listings
Word of mouth
Always #1 — AI amplifies it

GaryVee's insight: YouTube Shorts → Gemini AI pipeline

Shorts content created today is ingested by Gemini's LLMs — shaping AI recommendations in 12–24 months. Businesses posting consistent Shorts on their core topics build Gemini authority that pillar pages alone can't achieve. YouTube mentions and branded web mentions are the #1 factor correlated with AI brand visibility across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and AI Overviews.

"The content you make today on YouTube Shorts will protect you in 24 months to show up on Agentic AI results." — GaryVee

The Google AI Overview advantage — why it's the centerpiece of the package

Google AI Overview now appears in roughly 50% of all Google searches and reaches 2 billion people monthly. When it appears, organic click-through rates drop 58% for brands not cited — but brands cited inside the AI Overview earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks than non-cited competitors. Being cited isn't just visibility. It's a trust signal that converts at 5x the rate of standard search traffic.

This is why properly structured pillar pages with schema markup, expert authorship signals, and quarterly fresh content are the foundation of the AI Search Dominance Package.