Brand report · July 2026

Substack: AI Visibility Report

When buyers ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini about publishing & newsletters, Substack ranks #2 of 15, a Visibility Score of 61 in Publishing & Newsletters (and appears in 2 categories of the index).

These rankings are measured from what the three models know from training, not a live web search. The live-web grounded surface is rolling out across the index. Methodology.

How AI sees Substack

Dominant in one niche, nearly invisible everywhere else.

Where it wins. In Publishing and Newsletters, Substack ranks 2nd with a 68% mention rate and wins first pick 44% of the time, appearing in almost every prompt theme except enterprise.

Where it loses. In Email Marketing it ranks 14th of 15 and is absent from seven prompt themes including best overall, use-case fit, and budget questions, meaning AI models essentially skip it when buyers are shopping for email tools.

AI-generated analysis of the July 2026 measurements.

On message

How Substack positions itself vs how AI ranks it

Substack claims Publishing & Newsletters and the models back it: #2 of 15 there.

The pitch

"The app for independent voices"

Positions in Publishing & Newsletters

What AI actually says

Strongest #2 · Publishing & Newsletters

In Publishing & Newsletters #2 of 15, claim holds

Homepage self-messaging · July 2026 ranking · the biggest gaps across the index →

Publishing & Newsletters · #2 of 15

61 / 100 first snapshot (July 2026)

68%

mention rate (72 answers)

2

avg. position

44%

first pick

12%

share of voice

First snapshot: July 2026. The trend line appears with the second monthly measurement; no modeled history.

ChatGPT

62

Claude

66

Gemini

55

Prompt themes Substack would want to own

Share of each theme's answers that mention Substack. Hover a row for the exact prompt. Compare shapes on the head-to-head page.

9/9 · #1×6

9/9 · #1×5

9/9 · #1×6

9/9 · #1×7

If you could pick one

9/9 · #1×8

Feature-led ask

3/9

Budget & alternatives

1/9

Enterprise pick

0/9

Gaps Enterprise pick

Most co-mentioned competitors

Ghost

84%

Beehiiv

80%

Kit

61%

WordPress

41%

Mailchimp

27%

Medium

24%

Share of Substack's mentions where the AI models name this brand in the same answer. That is the real competitive set in the AI channel.

Scores are measured from real AI answers, refreshed monthly. Methodology.

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Substack: AI Visibility Report

How AI sees Substack

How Substack positions itself vs how AI ranks it

Publishing & Newsletters · #2 of 15

Email Marketing · #14 of 15

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