80 per cent of Switzerland use AI: what this means for your visibility

The IGEM-Digimonitor 2026 is out. Every year, the study measures how the Swiss population uses electronic media. This year, one figure stands out: four out of five people use AI. Two years ago, it was one in two. That is the fastest spread of any technology we have ever seen in Switzerland.

We took a close look at the figures. For companies with a website, something fundamental is changing. In this article, we show what the study says, why classic search is no longer enough and how you can check your website’s AI readiness in three minutes.

The figures from the Digimonitor 2026

The study is representative of the Swiss internet-using population aged 15 to 75. That is 6.4 million people. The survey was carried out in March and April 2026.

ChatGPT is by far the number one. Gemini follows with 32 per cent, Copilot with 30 per cent. Claude and Perplexity each reach 10 per cent. But the most important shift is not about usage as such. It is about the purpose.

AI is becoming search

The classic search engine remains the most widely used tool on the web. 98 per cent use it at least occasionally, more than two thirds every day. But the way people search is changing.

This means AI platforms are used for search more often than YouTube or social media. They also play a role in shopping: 39 per cent ask AI platforms for advice on purchases. That is on a par with YouTube (40 per cent) and ahead of social media (36 per cent).

In short: a large part of the Swiss population has answers delivered instead of comparing ten blue links. The AI selects the sources. If you are not selected, you do not appear in the answer.

What this means for your website

Until now, the rule was: if you rank well on Google, you will be found. That is still true. But it is no longer enough. AI systems read websites differently from people. They look for clear statements, reliable facts and content they can understand and cite without detours.

A website can be on page one of Google and still not appear in any AI answer. Conversely, a well-structured page from a smaller provider can appear as a source in ChatGPT or Perplexity, even though it ranks further down in the classic results.

This is exactly what Generative Engine Optimisation, GEO for short, is about. The goal is no longer just a position in a list. The goal is to be named as a source in the answer.

From our work on client projects, we see three points that make the biggest difference:

• Content must answer directly. One question, one clear answer in the first paragraph, then the details. AI systems prefer pages that make a point without detours.
• The website must be accessible and readable for AI crawlers. Many sites block the bots of OpenAI, Anthropic or Perplexity, often without knowing it. Others deliver their content in a way that cannot be read without a browser.
• Facts must be verifiable and up to date. Figures with a source, a clear date, unambiguous details on the company, its offering and its contacts. AI systems prefer to cite what they can check.

Check your website in three minutes

You can test for yourself whether your website is ready for AI systems. Our GEO Readiness Check tests a domain against 23 criteria and returns a score from 0 to 100. The check also queries live whether your domain is already being cited by an AI today. It takes about three minutes and needs no registration.

If you then want to know which of the 23 points offer the greatest leverage for your company, get in touch. We will look at it together.

Frequently asked questions about AI search and GEO