What this index reads
AI Substitution composites four Google Trends series that, together, read the cultural turn from "GPT or nothing" to a more pluralistic AI tooling stack. When these terms move together, stewards see search behavior repricing the platforms before the analysts catch up.
How to read movement
Elevated = the substitution thesis is in the air; consumers and engineers are looking. Watch this against Soren's AI Margin Compression Index — they answer different questions but should rhyme when the open-weight inflection actually arrives.