Do backlinks matter for AI search?

What the study found

• Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. Its article, published Dec. 12, 2025, reports very weak correlations between link metrics and brand mentions.
• Branded web mentions correlated between 0.66 and 0.71, which Ahrefs describes as high.
• YouTube mentions showed the strongest correlation, at about 0.737.

How to read it

A correlation shows two things move together. It does not show that one causes the other. Ahrefs measured brand mentions in AI answers, not whether a specific link changed a specific answer.

What to do with it

1. Keep earning links that bring buyers or support Google rankings, since Google rankings are a separate system.
2. Add a mentions goal. Count the third party pages and videos that name your company next to your category.
3. Find which sites AI engines already cite for your buyers' questions, and work to be covered there.
4. Rerun your question set on a schedule to see whether mentions change what AI says.

Sources

1. Top Brand Visibility Factors (75k Brands Studied) · Ahrefs, Dec. 12, 2025Supports: 75,000 brands, very weak correlations for link metrics, branded web mentions at 0.66 to 0.71 and YouTube mentions at about 0.737.
2. 9 AI Search Myths, Debunked by 15 Million Data Points · Search Engine Journal (Ahrefs), Aug. 18, 2026Supports: Ahrefs summary of the 75,000 brand study, which calls DR a very weak correlate and puts YouTube mentions at about 0.737.

Related questions

• How do you get cited by ChatGPT?
• What is a ghost citation in AI search?
• GEO vs SEO: what's the difference?

Intrica gets crypto, fintech and AI companies named in AI answers. AI search optimization →