The Independent: What brands should know as consumer use of AI rewrites the rules of search

AI adoption is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. According to a new Digital 2026 report, conducted by Meltwater and We Are Social, more than 1 billion people now use standalone AI apps like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini, signaling a surge driven largely by ChatGPT’s explosive growth from 250 million users last year to 800 million today. This rise is beginning to reshape the way consumers search, interact, and make decisions online.

Read the full article here: The Independent, AI apps top 1 billion users as ChatGPT overtakes X

As featured in The Independent, the report shows that AI is “crossing the chasm,” moving from early adopters to the mass market, and creating ripple effects across the broader internet. Conventional search engine usage is now declining as AI increasingly fulfills a wider variety of user needs.

As consumers continue to turn to AI chatbots instead of traditional search engines for research and discovery, Meltwater’s GenAI Lens helps brands and PR teams monitor and influence how they are represented in the new "search results".

It provides crucial transparency into the outputs of major LLMs (like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) by:

• Tracking LLM Responses: See the exact answers generated about your brand.
• Source Transparency: Identify the specific news links LLMs cite, allowing you to target the content driving the AI’s narrative.

Meltwater is a global leader in media, social, and consumer intelligence, helping over 27,000 brands worldwide understand and shape their stories across media, social and LLM environments. Learn more about Meltwater.