On March 20, 2025, Anthropic released Web Search for Claude.ai, transforming it from a static LLM into an Answer Engine just like ChatGPT with Bing or Perplexity. The immediate question for AEO practitioners: where does Claude search, and what does that mean for brand visibility?
The Brave Search connection
The critical insight: Claude leverages Brave Search as its primary search backend, confirmed by a statistically significant overlap of 86.7% between Claude's cited results and Brave Browser's top non-sponsored results in our 15-result sample.
This means Brave Search index coverage is now a direct factor in Claude citation visibility. Brands that aren't indexed in Brave Search — or whose Brave ranking differs significantly from their Google ranking — may see unexpected visibility gaps or gains in Claude specifically.
What this means for your AEO strategy
- Submit your sitemap to Brave Search independently — don't assume Google coverage transfers
- Monitor your Brave Search rankings as a leading indicator of Claude citation potential
- Claude's citation style tends toward more conservative, factual recommendations — authoritative, well-sourced content performs best
- The launch of Claude web search has meaningfully expanded the total AI search market — it's worth tracking Claude specifically