Data study · Patents behind AI search
44.8% of Generative AI Search Patent Families Have No US Publication, and 39.1% Were Published Only in China
Of 2,269 AI search patent families, 1,016 never published in the US. 887 appear only in China, while 820 appear only in the US.
Analysis of 2,269 generative AI search patent families by publishing office · Google Patents Public Data, October 2026
Key findings
- 1
1,016 of 2,269 generative AI search patent families (44.8%) have no US publication.
- 2
887 (39.1%) were published only in China, slightly more than the 820 (36.1%) published only in the US.
- 3
Only 142 families (6.3%) published in both the US and China, and 465 (20.5%) published at more than one office.
- 4
Among families first published in 2024, 249 of 395 (63.0%) had no US publication. In 2026 so far it is 255 of 794 (32.1%).
- 5
After the US and China, the next offices are the international PCT route (326 families) and the European Patent Office (166). South Korea has 60 and Japan 46.
- 6
A patent shows what was filed, not what is live in any product.
Summary
Picture an exporter selling into Asia and Europe who asks whether AI search is mainly a US story. Patent filings say no. Nearly half of the activity never touches the US patent office.
We grouped 2,269 generative AI search patent families by where they published. 1,016 (44.8%) have no US publication. China alone accounts for 887 families published nowhere else, slightly more than the 820 published only in the US.
Few families cross between the two largest offices: 142 published in both. A patent shows what was filed, not what is live in any product.
What we measured
We pulled every publication in Google Patents Public Data (patents-public-data.patents.publications) published from January 1, 2018 to September 17, 2026 that carries at least one CPC code in G06F16 (information retrieval), G06F40 (natural language processing) or G06N (AI and machine learning) and has an English abstract. That is 2,170,848 publications in 1,214,491 patent families. For each publication we kept the English title, the English abstract and up to the first 20,000 characters of the English claims. English claims exist for 488,406 publications, mostly US, European and international (WO) filings, so text matching is deeper for those offices than for Chinese, Korean or Japanese filings, which we matched on title and abstract.
We kept the 2,269 families that describe both generative AI and search, and listed every office where any family member published. A family is US-only or China-only when all its members published at that one office. Year is the first publication year in our window. Assignee nationality is missing for many records (blank for 1,074 families, mostly Chinese filings), so we report publishing office rather than owner nationality.
Nearly half of AI search patent families skip the US
We split families by where they published.
Families
| Pattern | Families | Share of 2,269 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| China only | 887 | 39.1 |
| US only | 820 | 36.1 |
| US and China (with or without others) | 142 | 6.3 |
| Neither US nor China | 109 | 4.8 |
| Published at more than one office | 465 | 20.5 |
Source: aisearchoptimization.net analysis of 2,269 generative AI search patent families by publishing office · Google Patents Public Data, October 2026
The rows overlap: multi-office families can include the US, China or both. Families with no US member include the 887 China-only families plus 129 others.
Every office where these families publish
A family counts once for each office where it published.
| Office | Families | Share of 2,269 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| United States (US) | 1,253 | 55.2 |
| China (CN) | 1,049 | 46.2 |
| International PCT (WO) | 326 | 14.4 |
| European Patent Office (EP) | 166 | 7.3 |
| South Korea (KR) | 60 | 2.6 |
| Japan (JP) | 46 | 2 |
| Australia (AU) | 16 | 0.7 |
| Taiwan (TW) | 14 | 0.6 |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 11 | 0.5 |
| Canada (CA) | 7 | 0.3 |
Source: aisearchoptimization.net analysis of 2,269 generative AI search patent families by publishing office · Google Patents Public Data, October 2026
International PCT applications (WO) appear in 326 families, a route applicants use to keep options open in many countries.
The non-US share swings by year
We tracked the share with no US publication by first publication year.
Share (%)
| Year | Families | With US publication | Without US publication | Share without US (%) | With Chinese publication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,023 | 48 | 26 | 22 | 45.8 | 26 |
| 2,024 | 395 | 146 | 249 | 63 | 267 |
| 2,025 | 1,005 | 517 | 488 | 48.6 | 497 |
| 2,026 | 794 | 539 | 255 | 32.1 | 251 |
Source: aisearchoptimization.net analysis of 2,269 generative AI search patent families by publishing office · Google Patents Public Data, October 2026
Chinese publications led early, in 2024, and US publications caught up in 2025 and 2026. Offices publish on different schedules and data for some offices arrives later, so the falling 2026 share may partly reflect timing. South Korea, for example, shows no 2026 publications yet in this data.
What this means
For businesses that sell internationally, AI search is being built in several markets at once, with China close to the US by filing count. Local AI assistants and search apps in each market may treat your content differently.
If you serve customers in other countries, publish pages in their language and with local details, and check visibility market by market. A free AI visibility audit can start with the markets that matter most to you, and an AI SEO agency can then extend the checks country by country.
Limits
A patent shows what was filed, not what is live in any product.
Patents usually publish about 18 months after the first filing, so families first filed in 2025 and 2026 are heavily undercounted, and 2026 publication counts cover January 1 to September 17, 2026 only.
We required English text. Chinese, Korean and Japanese families are included through English titles and abstracts in the dataset, and some may be missed.
Publishing offices are not the same as owner nationality. Many companies file in several countries.
Office data arrives on different schedules, so recent years can shift.
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Cite this study
APA
Grenyo, K. (2026). 44.8% of AI Search Patent Families Skip the US. AI Search Optimization. https://aisearchoptimization.net/resources/data-studies/ai-search-patents-outside-us
Plain link
44.8% of AI Search Patent Families Skip the US - AI Search Optimization - https://aisearchoptimization.net/resources/data-studies/ai-search-patents-outside-us
Frequently asked questions
What share of AI search patents are filed outside the US?
1,016 of 2,269 generative AI search patent families (44.8%) have no US publication.
Which country has the most AI search patents besides the US?
China. 1,049 families include a Chinese publication, and 887 were published only in China, compared with 820 published only in the US.
Do many families file in both the US and China?
Few do. 142 families (6.3%) published at both offices.
Does a patent in China mean a product is live there?
No. A patent shows what was filed, not what is live in any product.
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