![Why 62% of AI Citations Don’t Lead to Brand Mentions [Study]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://static.semrush.com/blog/uploads/media/55/2f/552f5c191aba1d08f70661a6aff0874a/8777270e2c92fd17ff2a71abce037df6/the-ghost-citation-problem-why-62%-of-ai-citations-dont-lead-to-brand-mentions.png)
Why 62% of AI Citations Don’t Lead to Brand Mentions [Study]
A new study with Kevin Indig reveals that 62% of AI‑generated citations are “ghost citations,” where the source link appears but the brand name is omitted. The research, covering 3,981 domain appearances across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, shows stark differences in how each engine balances citations versus mentions. Short, conversational prompts generate 30‑50× more brand mentions than longer, structured queries, while mention rates vary widely by country. Informational queries are heavily cited yet rarely name the brand, highlighting a visibility gap for marketers.
Shop Smartie with Martie: Louise Fritjofsson with Scott Hartley
In this episode, four‑time founder Louise Fritjofsson discusses Marty, a two‑sided marketplace that rescues surplus food and household goods, selling them at 40‑80% off to consumers while reducing waste. She explains how Marty leverages technology—especially the Marty Agentic Trade Engine—to analyze...
UAE's Fujairah Out of VLSFO Bunker Supplies
Fujairah, the world’s fourth‑largest bunkering hub, has run out of very‑low‑sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) as the US‑Iran conflict chokes feedstock imports and cuts supply from Kuwait’s al‑Zour refinery. Major suppliers report zero availability for the first half of June, pushing...
How Coca-Cola Is Approaching the FIFA World Cup From Multiple Angles
Coca‑Cola is leveraging three distinct activations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: a nostalgia‑driven adidas Originals apparel line, an AI‑powered “José vs. Mourinho” digital‑twin series, and a classic emotional TV spot titled “No Better Feeling.” The adidas collaboration revives early‑2000s...
China's Exports Jump 19.4% in May From a Year Earlier, Boosted by Demand for Autos and Tech Goods
China's customs reported a 19.4% year‑on‑year rise in May exports, led by autos and technology goods. The surge outpaced April's 14.1% gain and coincided with a 27.4% jump in imports. Exports to the United States jumped over 35%, the fastest...
Why MULO Brands Are Investing More in Creator-Led Marketing
Creator‑led marketing has moved from a niche experiment to a core growth engine for multi‑location (MULO) brands. Global spend on creator and influencer marketing is projected to hit $266.9 billion by the end of 2025, reflecting the scale of the shift....
ICEYE, Isar Aerospace Announce Significant Funding Rounds
Finnish Earth‑observation firm ICEYE closed a €450 million Series F round at a €10 billion valuation, pushing total proceeds above €1 billion ($1.16 billion) to expand global coverage and intelligence services. German launcher Isar Aerospace secured €270 million in a Series D round to accelerate production of...
‘Do I Need a Human?’: Skillsoft CPO on HR’s New Talent Strategy
Skillsoft’s chief people officer Ciara Harrington says the traditional talent script—matching a job to a person—is being replaced by a question of how work should be accomplished, including AI agents and automation. She highlights a severe shortage of AI‑specific talent,...
US International Trade Balance for April -$55.9B vs -$56.1B Estimate
The United States posted an April trade deficit of $55.9 billion, modestly better than the $56.1 billion forecast. Exports rose 2.6% to $327.1 billion, while imports increased 2.0% to $383.0 billion, narrowing the goods deficit by $2.4 billion. The services surplus slipped to $27.8 billion, offsetting...
Consultation Launched on Beefing up Employment Rights of Unpaid Carers
The Department for Work and Pensions has opened a consultation to strengthen employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children. Proposals include extending the five‑day unpaid carer leave, creating a statutory “right to return” modelled on maternity...
Orange Completes €4.25bn MasOrange Deal
Orange has finalized a €4.25 bn ($4.6 bn) cash deal to acquire Lorca’s 50% stake in the MasOrange joint venture, bringing the operation fully under Orange’s control. The acquisition adds roughly €2 bn ($2.2 bn) of quarterly revenue and 33 million mobile and fixed‑line customers,...
CIPD Response to Government's AI-Powered 'Job Centre in My Pocket'
The UK government unveiled an AI‑powered “job centre in your pocket” aimed at widening access to work. CIPD Skills Adviser Lizzie Crowley welcomed the policy signal but warned that delivery will be critical, insisting AI should augment rather than replace...
U.K. Begins Formal Review of Paramount-Warner Bros. Megadeal
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority has opened a formal Phase‑1 review of Paramount’s $111 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, setting an Aug. 7 deadline to decide whether to launch a deeper Phase‑2 investigation. The probe coincides with parallel scrutiny in the United...
Rick Wurster Puts Fidelity's $5-Trillion-Plus of 'Workplace' Assets in Play with a New 'Total Asset Capture' Strategy that Promises a...
Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster announced a strategic push into the workplace retirement market, directly targeting Fidelity’s $5 trillion‑plus 401(k) franchise. Schwab plans to pour capital into modernizing its legacy record‑keeping platform and integrate stock‑plan, wellness, and retirement services under a...
SBI in $1 Billion Funding for Sun Pharma’s US Deal
State Bank of India (SBI) is poised to provide up to $1 billion in debt financing for Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' $12 billion acquisition of US‑listed Organon & Co., joining Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The proposal, pending SBI board approval, would...
Gallagher Succeeds Mahoney at Mercury
Mercury Public Affairs, owned by Omnicom, announced a leadership overhaul on June 9, 2026. Founder Kieran Mahoney stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman, while longtime president John Gallagher was elevated to CEO. Michael Soliman was named president and Tom Doherty, a 25‑year veteran,...
Delegation & Flow Workbook
The Delegation & Flow Workbook addresses the pervasive "delegation illusion" that keeps founders as hidden bottlenecks in startups. It offers a self‑audit, mapping templates, and bottleneck diagnostics to reveal where authority and ownership break down. Practical step‑by‑step fixes guide founders...
Honeywell Is Holding Its Profit Forecast Steady Ahead of Its Aerospace Spinoff
Honeywell reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $10.35‑$10.65 per share and revenue of $38.8‑$39.8 billion as it prepares to spin off its aerospace unit on June 29. The separation completes a three‑way breakup that already created Solstice Advanced Materials and will...
New Visa Scheme to Help UK Firms Scale and Attract Talent
The UK government announced two new visa initiatives aimed at high‑growth sectors. Scale‑up firms in digital, tech, life sciences and clean energy will receive visa fee reimbursements, while a fast‑track referral will accelerate sponsor‑licence approvals for international businesses expanding into...
Marketers Are Getting Used To AI In The Ad Stack
Marketers and media buyers are increasingly integrating large‑language models such as ChatGPT into campaign workflows, treating AI as an assistant rather than a replacement. AI tools now span ad creative generation, search, and chatbot experiences, with Connected TV emerging as...
Stop Aiming for Great Culture – Aim for Good Work Instead
The 2026 Gallup State of the Global Workplace report shows only 20 % of employees worldwide are engaged, with the U.S. and Canada lagging at 31 %. Despite heavy investment in culture programs, burnout and low engagement persist. The article argues that...
Build Marketing Infrastructure Before Launching Campaigns
“It’s too early for marketing.” That’s not what a fractional CMO is supposed to say to a founder who’s ready to spend money. But I meant it. A CEO approached me with plans to expand into the U.S. and Europe....
CData Appoints Raviv Levi as Chief Product and Technology Officer, Expands Executive Team to Power the AI Data Layer
CData Software announced three senior hires to accelerate its AI data‑layer strategy: Raviv Levi as Chief Product and Technology Officer, Amit Naik as Vice President of AI Architecture, and Craig Sanchez as Senior Vice President of Embedded Sales. Levi arrives from Sift after...
The Buyer Journey That Marketers Don’t See
Alex Lamaro‑McCrindle warns that today’s buyer journey begins long before a prospect lands on a website. Large language model (LLM) searches, zero‑click Google answers, and stricter cookie consent are pushing the early research phase into a black box that traditional...
What's Next for Apple with a New CEO
Apple announced that longtime CEO Tim Cook will step down in September after 15 years, naming hardware chief John Ternus as his successor. The transition sent Apple’s $4 trillion‑valued shares lower briefly, underscoring investor sensitivity to leadership shifts. Cook’s tenure delivered a...
How an E-Scooter Founder Raised $5 Million to Build Space Data Centers
Orbital, a space‑data‑center startup founded by former e‑scooter CEO Euwyn Poon, closed a $5 million seed round led by a16z Speedrun and a slate of 15 other investors. The company aims to launch a constellation of 10,000 satellites equipped with Nvidia GPUs...
Worldview | Rethinking China’s Far-Flung Cities
The piece surveys how AI has moved from a testing phase to a foundational element of marketing operations, promising efficiency gains and creative amplification. It highlights rising consumer resentment toward AI, warning brands that mistrust can erode loyalty. The article...
Women in Planning Launches Collective Action Plan for Gender Equality
Women in Planning has unveiled a collective action plan aimed at gender equality in the built‑environment sector. An MoU was signed by a coalition of leading planning, architecture and development firms to formalise commitments on attracting, supporting and retaining female...
What to Expect From the May CPI Report
Recent BLS data shows April CPI surged, driven by a 3.8% monthly rise in energy prices, the biggest component of the increase. Energy costs jumped 17.8% year‑over‑year, with gasoline up 28.4%, reflecting the impact of the Iran‑related war. Economists forecast...
Markets Assess Potential Impacts of US Section 301 Tariffs on Brazil
The U.S. Trade Representative is set to impose a 25% Section 301 tariff on Brazilian imports, targeting less than 30% of Brazil’s export basket. The proposal leaves key commodities such as aircraft parts, coffee and pulp exempt, but excludes fish, ethanol...
Flipkart Group Partners with Meta to Expand Creator-Led Commerce in India
Flipkart Group has teamed up with Meta to embed affiliate product tagging within Facebook posts and Reels, allowing creators to link directly to Flipkart and Myntra listings. The rollout begins on Facebook, with Instagram slated for a later phase, and...
Private Equity’s Takeover of the Supply Chain
Private equity firms are accelerating their entry into the aerospace supply chain, treating tier‑2 and tier‑3 component manufacturers, parts distributors, and MRO providers as resilient, cash‑generating assets. Bain Capital and Audax Private Equity recently announced a multi‑year strategic acquisition of...
Zaga Expands German Residential Platform with 1,010-Unit Acquisition
German real‑estate platform Zaga has acquired a portfolio of 1,010 residential units, expanding its presence in the country’s rental market. The purchase is part of Zaga’s strategy to consolidate fragmented assets and apply its asset‑management expertise. Zaga estimates that targeted...
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This World Cup the Second Screen Will Move up Front
Snapchat’s UK head Jake Thomas says the World Cup will be dominated by the second screen, turning mobile, social interaction into the primary way fans watch live sport. The company is rolling out augmented‑reality lenses and real‑time filters that overlay...
Safe Havens No More? Treasuries Sink While Riskier Debt Rallies
Investors are abandoning traditional safe‑haven Treasuries in favor of higher‑yielding, riskier debt as the Iran‑related geopolitical tension pushes yields up. Treasury‑focused ETFs have slipped into negative territory, while high‑yield corporate bond funds have posted solid gains. The shift reflects a...
New Google Ads Campaign Guidance With Experiment Power Score
Google Ads introduced a Campaign Guidance feature that assigns an “Experiment Power” score to each test, indicating the probability of achieving statistically significant results. The score considers campaign volume, variability, traffic split, duration, and experiment type, and is presented on...
Accountancy Body Launches Talent Toolkit for Small and Medium-Sized Practices
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has launched the SMP Talent Management Toolkit, a two‑part resource designed to help small and medium‑sized accounting practices attract, develop and retain finance talent. Timed with UN MSME Day, the toolkit draws on ACCA’s Global...
Taiwan's Exports Hit 2nd Highest Level in May on AI Boom
Taiwan’s May exports surged 51.7% year‑on‑year to US$78.48 billion, the second‑largest monthly total on record. The jump was driven by a wave of AI‑related demand, especially for chips, servers and other ICT components. Imports also hit a record US$60.57 billion, widening the...
UK BESS M&A Rebounds with CIP, Fidra, Elements Green, Gresham House, Eelpower Transacting on 4.2GWh
After a quiet spell, M&A in the UK large‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS) market surged with five deals totaling about 4.2 GWh of capacity. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners sold minority stakes in its 1 GWh Devilla project to the Scottish National Investment...
The AI Atrophy Problem: How CIOs Fight It
At the 2026 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, leaders warned that rapid AI adoption is eroding critical‑thinking skills, a phenomenon dubbed “AI atrophy.” Participants shared tactics to keep analytical rigor sharp, emphasizing that AI outputs should be treated as hypotheses to...
AI Services And Robotics Lead Diverse Crop Of 29 New May Unicorns As SpaceX, Anthropic And OpenAI Line Up Blockbuster...
May saw 29 new unicorns join the Crunchbase board, with AI services and robotics leading the charge. OpenAI and Anthropic each launched multibillion‑dollar deployment ventures to help enterprises operationalize large language models, while a wave of AI‑infrastructure, autonomous software and...
Gordon Ramsay Stars in Uber Eats’ First-Ever Global Campaign Across 17 Markets via Mother
Uber Eats has launched its first-ever global advertising campaign, “Who Could Cook At A Time Like This?”, starring 17‑time Michelin‑starred chef Gordon Ramsay. The five‑week rollout begins on 11 June across 17 markets—including the US, UK, France and Australia—and runs on...
The Startup that Tried to Fix Food Waste—And Got Hit by a Disinformation Campaign
Apeel Sciences, a unicorn food‑waste startup that uses an edible, plant‑based coating to extend produce shelf life, raised over $800 million and earned FDA GRAS status. In 2023‑24 the company became the target of a disinformation campaign spread by wellness influencers,...
DataBraid Secures $1.9 Million USD to Solve Insurance Brokers’ “Portal Hopping” Problem
Toronto‑based DataBraid announced a $1.9 million USD (≈$2.0 million USD) pre‑seed round backed by OTPP‑affiliated Koru Ventures. The startup’s AI‑powered platform links broker management systems directly to carrier portals, erasing the need for repetitive data entry known as “portal hopping.” A pilot...
Oscar Mayer Sees Continued Leadership Shakeup as Profits Rebound
Oscar Mayer has created a new Group Sales and Marketing Executive Director role, appointing retail sales director Chris Taylor to the post. The move follows the departure of chief commercial officer Gordon Walsh after three years. Despite a 4.7% drop in...
France: M6 Buyout Rumoured
French broadcaster M6 saw its stock jump 11.85% to €12.84 (about $14) after Le Parisien revived buyout rumors. The paper says M6 is renegotiating a merger with rival TF1, pricing the deal at €20 ($22) per share, which values the group...
4 Tactics for Asking Great Sales Discovery Questions
The Brooks Group outlines four core tactics for crafting effective sales discovery questions: pre‑call planning, active listening, open‑ended questioning, and strategic probing. It emphasizes that follow‑up questions deepen insight into a prospect’s pain points, budget, timeline, and decision criteria. The...
Glint Solar Names Otovo Co-Founder as CEO, Targets US Expansion and Data Center Push
Glint Solar appointed Simen Fure Jørgensen, co‑founder of Norway’s Otovo, as its new CEO to accelerate a U.S. market push and a strategic focus on data‑center developers. Jørgensen brings AI expertise and scaling experience, having grown Otovo to 400 staff...
China’s Consumption Push Repeats Old Production‑centric, Flawed Strategy
“China’s long-term strategy to improve consumption has turned out to not be a new strategy at all; instead, it is the same strategy China has always relied on—one that focuses on increasing production with an expectation that household incomes will...
Kulfi Collective Appoints Aditya Mehendale as Executive Creative Director
Kulfi Collective, a culture‑focused creative studio, announced the appointment of Aditya Mehendale as its executive creative director. The move coincides with a broader leadership reshuffle that adds a chief innovation officer, chief strategy officer and chief financial officer. Kulfi is...