A trend analysis usually starts with search volumes: which term is growing, which is shrinking? That produces figures, but it says little about what your customers actually get to read. Because more and more often, they put their question to an AI assistant and take on board whatever the answer offers. If you, as a strategist, want to know what is going on in your sector, you also look at the topics that keep coming back in those answers.

What trend analysis means here

A trend analysis is the systematic comparison of the same measurement across different periods, to see which topics emerge, disappear or change in tone. Traditionally, it covers search volumes, news articles or market figures. The source determines what becomes visible: search volumes show what people type in, not what they get as an answer.

With AI answers, the answer itself is the measuring point. If the same question about your sector gets a different emphasis month after month, that is a signal. Think of new regulation that suddenly appears in every answer, a competitor cited as a reference, or a theme that quietly disappears. You read it in words, not in a volume figure.

Why search volumes alone are not enough

For anyone making strategic choices, search volumes have three limitations.

  • They measure the question, not the answer. A term can grow while AI assistants give it a different meaning from your positioning.
  • They come after the fact. A topic only gets a volume once enough people type it in. In answers, it can become visible earlier, because the assistant already brings it up itself.
  • They say nothing about tone. A rising volume doesn't tell you whether a topic is discussed positively, critically or neutrally.

That doesn't make search volumes worthless. They remain a useful second source. They just show one side of the market, and you need to look at the other side separately.

How to read trends in what answers say

The principle is simple: ask the same questions at fixed moments, and compare what the answers offer. GripIQ takes care of the first part. In Prompts, the platform puts your questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Mode, and stores every answer in full. For each answer, you see which Brands are mentioned, with what sentiment and tone, and which sources it relies on. You read the topics themselves in the answers; GripIQ does not count them for you. What the platform does measure is how brand mentions and sources shift from period to period.

For a trend analysis, that gives you a workable structure:

  • Choose questions that describe your sector. So not questions about your own brand, but questions a buyer or analyst asks about the sector: what should you look for when choosing a supplier, what has changed, what are the risks?
  • Compare periods. You find the date filter on the Overview and the Answers tab of Prompts, and under Keywords and Socials. You choose a fixed period, such as the last 90 days, or a custom range with a start and end date. That way, you put a recent period next to an earlier one, at least if scans were already running then.
  • Compare markets. Every Prompt belongs to a market, the region, which GripIQ sets for you. On the Answers tab, you filter by region. The same question can put a different topic at the top in Belgium than in the Netherlands.
  • Watch the sources. For every answer, you see which sources it relies on. A topic that suddenly comes from one publication carries different weight from a topic that shows up in ten sources.

You won't get a forecast out of this. You see what is in the answers now and how that shifts. What it means for your market remains a judgement for your team.

A worked example

Say you are shaping the strategy for a Belgian building materials company. You set up twelve Prompts a buyer would ask, for the Belgian market: which insulation materials are worth considering, what should you look out for with renovation grants, which suppliers do installers recommend?

The first scan serves as your baseline. In the answers, you read which topics come back, and in the overview you see which Brands are mentioned alongside them, and with what sentiment. Three months later, you select each period in turn in the date filter and put the results side by side. These three questions then give you plenty to discuss with management:

  • Which topic stands out more often in the answers than three months ago?
  • Which Brand is now mentioned that wasn't there before?
  • Which topic has disappeared, and was it one your company was known for?

The big advantage: you work with a fixed method of measurement, instead of an impression from a few loose conversations with a chatbot.

Search volume and answer side by side

The strongest trend analysis combines both sources. Search volumes, which you find under Keywords, show how big the demand is. The answers show the content and the tone. Where the two diverge, there is usually something to investigate: a topic that is searched for a lot but rarely answered well, or a topic that dominates the answers while hardly anyone searches for it yet.

The first is an opportunity, because nobody gives a good answer to it yet. The second is an early signal: the assistant is already raising the topic before the market asks for it. Want to get the classic side of the analysis in order first? Read Competitor analysis: the model, an example and what AI answers add. Where this kind of outside observation fits into a broader framework is explained in What is market intelligence, and how does it differ from business intelligence?.

What you can do now

  • Write down ten to twelve questions someone in your sector would ask an AI assistant, without your own brand name.
  • Enter them as Prompts and use the first scan as a baseline. Let GripIQ know which market they apply to.
  • After a quarter, select two consecutive periods in the date filter, and discuss the differences with your team.

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