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The ByDefault blog.

Notes from the team on AI search, the web, and building ByDefault.

AI Search

AI Overview Sources: Only 31% of the Pages Google Links Rank in Its Top 10

In a sample of 4,931 Google AI Overview links, only 31% ranked in Google's top 10 for the same question, and 44% weren't in the first 100.

Josh8 min read
AI Search

The Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Playbook for 2026: What 11,917 AI Answers Show

A generative engine optimization playbook for 2026 from 11,917 AI answers: what GEO, AEO and AI SEO take for a SaaS product, which pages win the first pick, and three evals to run.

Josh22 min read
AI Search

Who Reads llms.txt? 1.9 Million AI Bot Requests Show Agents Do and Crawlers Don't

We analyzed a sample of 1.9 million AI bot requests. Crawlers almost never read llms.txt, while ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor read it on docs sites.

Josh9 min read
AI Search

How Does AI Search Work? 7,182 Answers From ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Cursor Compared

How AI search works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Cursor: 7,182 answers show how each one searches the web and which pages it cites.

Josh13 min read
AI Search

ChatGPT Knowledge Cutoff vs. Web Search: How Fast 8 AI Assistants Pick Up a Change on Your Site

We tracked 8 AI assistants after real pricing changes. ChatGPT had the new number in a day; others gave the old one for months. Data inside.

Josh12 min read
AI Search

Why Cursor recommends Neon in 97% of answers: an LLM SEO case study

Why Cursor, ChatGPT and Codex rank Neon first for Postgres: 1,436 AI answers show what LLM SEO takes, and a playbook any devtool can copy.

Josh14 min read
AI Search

Why ChatGPT and Cursor love to recommend Clerk: a Guide on AI Search Visibility

Why ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor recommend Clerk for auth: 799 AI answers show what drives AI search visibility for devtools, and a playbook any company can copy.

Josh11 min read
AI Search

AI Bot Traffic in September 2026: Meta's Crawler Grew While ChatGPT Fetches Fell 59%

We analyzed AI bot traffic to websites in September 2026. Meta's crawler grew fast, ChatGPT fetches fell 59%, and Claude reads mostly docs and pricing.

Josh7 min read
AI Search

What Is AEO in Marketing? How AI Answers Pick Their Sources

With AEO (answer engine optimization), you can get your brand cited and recommended in ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Overview and others.

Josh8 min read
AI Search

How ChatGPT Web Search Works (2026 breakdown w/ API Example)

How ChatGPT web search works: when it searches, the hidden fan-out queries it runs, how it aggregates results, explained with live API runs as examples.

Josh12 min read
AI Search

The Best AI Visibility Tools for Tracking Brand Mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude (2026)

Compare eight AI visibility tools by model coverage, pricing, and how they track brand mentions and citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.

Josh9 min read

Turn AI search into your most profitable sales channel.