AI Search Sends Clicks to Local Domains, Not Global Brands: What 87 Million Visits Show

AI-powered search results send clicks to local domain variants, not global brand defaults, according to a Similarweb analysis of 87.6 million AI search visits across 10 markets by international SEO consultant Aleyda Solis. In markets from Germany to Brazil, local competitors outperform global brands in AI-generated click traffic even when the global brand has a dominant paid presence. For performance marketers running international campaigns, this changes the domain strategy and geo-targeting calculus.

Key takeaways

1. Analysis of 87.6 million AI search visits across 10 markets found clicks go to local domain variants, not global defaults - Bol.com leads Dutch ecommerce over Amazon, MercadoLivre leads in Brazil.
2. The number of domains capturing the first 50% of AI clicks varies enormously by category: a median of 5 in ecommerce, 17 in finance, and 47 in travel.
3. Localization signals - local domain, local content, local entity mentions - appear to be ranking factors in AI search interfaces, not just traditional SERP.
4. Campaigns targeting non-local domains in high-AI-search markets can expect lower click-through rates as AI interfaces preference local citations.
5. B2B marketers with international audiences should audit whether their primary domain or a local variant receives AI search citations in their key markets.

What the 87-million-visit dataset shows

Localization signal definition: In AI search contexts, a localization signal is any factor that increases the likelihood an AI engine will cite a local domain variant (for example, bahn.de over booking.com, or mercadolivre.com.br over amazon.com) when responding to a market-specific query.

Aleyda Solis analyzed approximately 87.6 million AI search visits captured in March 2026 Similarweb data across the USA, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil - covering 57,696 domain-market combinations. The dataset captures visits that landed on a domain after a user clicked a link from an AI-generated answer in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, or similar interfaces.

The finding that challenges the global-brand assumption: in ecommerce, the top-performing domain in most non-US markets was a local or regional player, not Amazon. In travel, local national rail and hotel aggregators outperformed global platforms like Booking.com in several European markets. Finance showed an even stronger local bias - local banks, local comparison sites, and government financial services portals outperformed global fintechs in citation frequency.

The market concentration data is particularly instructive. In ecommerce, 50% of AI search clicks in a given market go to just 5 domains. In finance, 17 domains share the first 50% of clicks. In travel, it takes 47 domains to capture 50% of AI search clicks. This means the category determines how concentrated the AI click opportunity is - ecommerce is a winner-take-most market for local AI citations, while travel is fragmented.

Why AI search interfaces preference local domains

The ICP problem this creates for global brands: paid media investments build Google Ads and Meta presence based on keyword and audience signals calibrated for traditional SERP behavior. AI search interfaces appear to weight different signals when selecting which sources to cite.

The most likely localization ranking factors in AI search, based on the Similarweb data pattern:

Local TLD and domain structure. bahn.de gets cited more than booking.com for German rail queries. mercadolivre.com.br gets cited more than amazon.com for Brazilian ecommerce queries. A local domain variant signals geographic specificity that AI models appear to use as a relevance proxy.

Local entity mentions. AI search models are trained on text that references local entities - local landmarks, local business names, local regulatory context. Content that naturally includes local entity references will be more closely associated with market-specific queries than content that is generically global.

Local language and content. Even when the global domain has a localized subdirectory (brand.com/de), the Solis analysis found that local domains (brand.de) and fully localized local-language domains outperformed subdirectory-based localization for AI search citations in most markets.

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Operational implications for performance marketers

This data changes three things for marketing teams running international campaigns.

First: Paid investment does not transfer to AI search clicks. A market where your global brand has 30% paid search impression share may have 3% of AI search citations. Paid and organic AI citation visibility are currently separate channels with separate ranking factors. Budget allocation for international markets needs to account for this decoupling - which also changes how you should measure AI search's impact on your marketing KPIs.

Second: Domain strategy affects AI visibility. If your company serves European markets from a .com domain with language subdirectories but lacks local TLDs, your AI search citation rate in those markets is likely lower than a local competitor with a market-specific domain. This is a structural disadvantage that cannot be overcome with content quality alone.

Third: Category concentration determines urgency. If you operate in ecommerce, the top-5 local domains capture 50% of AI search clicks. If you are not among those 5 in your key markets, the opportunity cost is high and growing. If you operate in travel, the fragmentation is higher and the urgency lower - but local positioning still matters.

Prooflytics surfaces channel-level traffic attribution in the daily briefing, enabling marketers to monitor when AI search referral traffic begins shifting between domains or increasing in volume relative to traditional organic. This makes the AI search visibility trend visible alongside paid channel performance without requiring a separate analytics setup.

What to audit in your domain and content strategy

Step 1: Check which domain receives AI search citations in your key markets. Search for your primary commercial keywords in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode for each target market. Note which domain is cited - your global .com, a local TLD variant, or a local competitor. This is the baseline for your AI search positioning in each market.

Step 2: Audit your local TLD coverage. If your company operates in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, or Mexico but serves those markets from a .com domain, review whether acquiring and building out local TLD variants would improve AI search citation rates. The Solis data suggests this is a meaningful factor, particularly in ecommerce and finance categories.

Step 3: Add local entity signals to market-specific content. Content that references local regulatory bodies, local market statistics, local industry associations, and local geographic references is more likely to be cited by AI search for market-specific queries. Audit your market-specific landing pages and blog content for local entity density.

Step 4: Track AI search referral traffic separately. GA4 and most analytics platforms now surface AI search as a distinct referral source. Set up a segment or custom channel grouping for AI search referral traffic so you can see which domains and pages are receiving AI-generated clicks in each market. The broader picture of what this shift means for organic traffic is covered in the zero-click era analysis. This is the leading indicator of whether your localization efforts are moving AI search visibility.

Bottom line

• 87.6 million AI search visits across 10 markets confirm that AI interfaces prefer local domain variants over global brands in most non-US markets.
• Category determines concentration urgency: ecommerce (5 domains capture 50% of clicks) is highest urgency; travel (47 domains) has more fragmentation.
• Audit which domain receives AI search citations in your key markets before assuming global brand presence transfers to AI search visibility.
• Local TLDs, local entity signals in content, and local-language pages are the most actionable localization levers for AI search.
• You can compare how marketing analytics platforms track AI search referral traffic and channel attribution on G2.