# YouTube in AI search: week 8

Rodrigo Beckmann · First Answer · Published 2026-10-19 · HTML version: https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w08/

*Weekly index · week 8 edition.* How much each AI model cites YouTube in its answers, week by week, and where that presence is changing.

This is the week 8 edition, kept as published. [See the current edition](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/)

Week 8 · Feb 16–22, 2026

## In short

In week 8, Grok was the model that cited YouTube most, in 53.3% of answers, followed by Google AI Overviews (52.8%). Significant change from the previous week: Perplexity (+2.7 pp), Google AI Mode (+2.2 pp), Grok (−1.5 pp). Since week 1, the largest drop is Google AI Mode's (−9.8 pp) and the largest rise is Grok's (+33.8 pp).

## Week 8 ranking

Share of answers citing YouTube and change from week 7.

| Model | Presence | Week change | 4-week avg. | Since W1 | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Grok | 53.3% | ↓ −1.5 pp | 48.7% | ↑ +33.8 pp | Significant |
| 2. Google AI Overviews | 52.8% | ↑ +1.1 pp | 40.1% | ↑ +2.6 pp | Within noise |
| 3. Google AI Mode | 41.1% | ↑ +2.2 pp | 37.7% | ↓ −9.8 pp | Significant |
| 4. Perplexity | 32.2% | ↑ +2.7 pp | 28.8% | ↑ +8.9 pp | Significant |
| 5. ChatGPT | 1.1% | ↓ −0.9 pp | 2.2% | ↓ −3.3 pp | Within noise |
| 6. Copilot | 0.8% | ↑ +0.2 pp | 0.6% | ↑ +0.5 pp | Within noise |
| 7. Gemini | 0.2% | → 0.0 pp | 0.2% | → 0.0 pp | Within noise |

Presence: share of the model's answers that cite youtube.com among their sources. Changes in percentage points (pp).

## Timeline

| Week | Dates | Google AI Overviews | Google AI Mode | Grok | Gemini | Perplexity | ChatGPT | Copilot |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| W1 | Dec 29, 2025 – Jan 4, 2026 | 50.3% | 50.9% | 19.5% | 0.2% | 23.3% | 4.5% | 0.3% |
| W2 | Jan 5–11, 2026 | 50.0% | 43.0% | 23.0% | 0.2% | 22.9% | 4.3% | 0.3% |
| W3 | Jan 12–18, 2026 | 48.3% | 33.4% | 18.7% | 0.2% | 20.9% | 5.1% | 0.5% |
| W4 | Jan 19–25, 2026 | 35.1% | 33.9% | 38.2% | 0.3% | 24.9% | 5.1% | 0.6% |
| W5 | Jan 26–Feb 1, 2026 | 24.6% | 35.5% | 37.3% | 0.3% | 26.2% | 5.1% | 0.5% |
| W6 | Feb 2–8, 2026 | 31.4% | 35.1% | 49.6% | 0.3% | 27.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| W7 | Feb 9–15, 2026 | 51.7% | 38.9% | 54.8% | 0.2% | 29.5% | 2.0% | 0.6% |
| W8 | Feb 16–22, 2026 | 52.8% | 41.1% | 53.3% | 0.2% | 32.2% | 1.1% | 0.8% |

YouTube presence by model, weeks 1 to 8 of 2026 (% of answers). * = week with a reduced base; — = no data. Source: data observed and catalogued by First Answer.

### All weeks

- [W43 · Oct 19–25](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−3.6 pp) (current edition)
- [W42 · Oct 12–18](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w42/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+4.0 pp)
- [W41 · Oct 5–11](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w41/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+6.5 pp)
- [W40 · Sep 28–Oct 4](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w40/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+14.9 pp)
- [W39 · Sep 21–27](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w39/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+18.8 pp)
- [W38 · Sep 14–20](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w38/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−15.6 pp)
- [W37 · Sep 7–13](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w37/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+6.3 pp)
- [W36 · Aug 31–Sep 6](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w36/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+17.2 pp)
- [W35 · Aug 24–30](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w35/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−30.1 pp)
- [W34 · Aug 17–23](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w34/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+36.9 pp)
- [W33 · Aug 10–16](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w33/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−18.6 pp)
- [W32 · Aug 3–9](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w32/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−15.6 pp)
- [W31 · Jul 27–Aug 2](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w31/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+4.5 pp)
- [W30 · Jul 20–26](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w30/): Largest drop: Perplexity (−12.2 pp)
- [W29 · Jul 13–19](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w29/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+5.2 pp)
- [W28 · Jul 6–12](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w28/): Largest rise: Perplexity (+5.8 pp)
- [W27 · Jun 29–Jul 5](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w27/): Largest rise: Perplexity (+7.9 pp)
- [W26 · Jun 22–28](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w26/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−6.2 pp)
- [W25 · Jun 15–21](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w25/): Largest drop: Perplexity (−9.2 pp)
- [W24 · Jun 8–14](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w24/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+8.8 pp)
- [W23 · Jun 1–7](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w23/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+21.7 pp)
- [W22 · May 25–31](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w22/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−18.1 pp)
- [W21 · May 18–24](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w21/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−13.5 pp)
- [W20 · May 11–17](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w20/): Largest rise: Grok (+8.7 pp)
- [W19 · May 4–10](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w19/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−20.0 pp)
- [W18 · Apr 27–May 3](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w18/): Largest rise: Grok (+5.5 pp)
- [W17 · Apr 20–26](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w17/): Largest drop: Grok (−19.6 pp)
- [W16 · Apr 13–19](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w16/): Largest rise: Perplexity (+6.7 pp)
- [W15 · Apr 6–12](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w15/): Largest rise: Grok (+4.5 pp)
- [W14 · Mar 30–Apr 5](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w14/): Largest drop: Perplexity (−2.6 pp)
- [W13 · Mar 23–29](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w13/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+12.7 pp)
- [W12 · Mar 16–22](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w12/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−13.5 pp)
- [W11 · Mar 9–15](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w11/): Largest rise: Google AI Mode (+8.8 pp)
- [W10 · Mar 2–8](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w10/): Largest rise: Grok (+4.1 pp)
- [W9 · Feb 23–Mar 1](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w09/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+3.7 pp)
- [W8 · Feb 16–22](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w08/): Largest rise: Perplexity (+2.7 pp)
- [W7 · Feb 9–15](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w07/): Largest rise: Google AI Overviews (+20.3 pp)
- [W6 · Feb 2–8](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w06/): Largest rise: Grok (+12.3 pp)
- [W5 · Jan 26–Feb 1](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w05/): Largest drop: Google AI Overviews (−10.5 pp)
- [W4 · Jan 19–25](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w04/): Largest rise: Grok (+19.5 pp)
- [W3 · Jan 12–18](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w03/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−9.6 pp)
- [W2 · Jan 5–11](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w02/): Largest drop: Google AI Mode (−7.8 pp)
- [W1 · Dec 29–Jan 4](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w01/): Start of the series

## Events

Large changes in the series and what is known about them. We only log explanations with a source; when there is none, we say so.

- **W6 · Feb 2–8** · No explanation found (ChatGPT): ChatGPT falls from 5.1% (week 5) to 0.6%, swings between 1.1% and 2.0% over the next two weeks and returns to 4.2% in week 9. We found no public change to ChatGPT in the week of the drop.
- **W4 · Jan 19–25** · No explanation found (Grok): Grok rises from 18.7% (week 3) to 38.2%, 49.6% (week 6), 66.1% (week 11) and 76–82% between weeks 13 and 16. We found no xAI announcement or public measurement of this rise.
- **W4 · Jan 19–25** · Possible (Google AI Overviews): Google AI Overviews falls from 48.3% (week 3) to 35.1%, 24.6% and 31.4% (week 6), and returns to 51.7% in week 7. On January 27, Gemini 3 became the default model for AI Overviews, and on February 4 Google acknowledged a bug that left some answers without links; SE Ranking measured the missing sources in those weeks. The drop starts earlier, on January 19, and no one has linked these changes to YouTube. [Source: Gemini 3 Replaces 42% of Previously Cited Domains in AI Overviews](https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/) · [Source: Google AI Overviews Bug Removes Links & Citations](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-bug-no-links-40885.html)
- **W2 · Jan 5–11** · No explanation found (Google AI Mode): Google AI Mode falls from 50.9% (week 1) to 43.0% and 33.4% (week 3), and only rises above 40% again in week 8. We found no public change to AI Mode in that window.

## Method, in short

Source: data observed and catalogued by First Answer. Each week, we measure by model the share of answers that cite youtube.com among their sources and compare it with the previous week. A change is flagged as significant only when it exceeds the 95% margin and is at least 1 pp. Weeks with a smaller-than-usual base are flagged and left out of the comparison.

## Limitations

The index measures what First Answer's base observes, not every search made on the models. We do not disclose volumes, questions, topics, categories, brands, channels or clients; only aggregate measures by model. Claude is not included in this series. Explanations under Events come from external sources and state how confirmed they are.

## How to cite

Beckmann, R. (2026). *YouTube in AI search: weekly index* (week 8, Feb 16–22, 2026). First Answer. https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/indices/youtube-in-ai-search/2026-w08

## Related study

[FA-MET-01 — How to Measure What an AI Recommends](https://rodrigobeckmann.com/en/research/how-to-measure-what-an-ai-recommends/): How many queries it takes to tell an isolated observation from a real pattern.