By now, most digital marketers understand that large language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews don’t just generate answers, but they curate them from somewhere. But what’s less discussed is how these AI engines decide which sources to cite.
Recent research analyzing nearly 8,000 AI citations reveals that each major AI platform has distinct citation habits, shaped by their underlying algorithms, data sources, and the types of queries they handle. If your goal is to be surfaced and cited by these engines, you need to understand the signals they respond to and how those signals differ from traditional SEO.
Let’s break down what the latest data tells us about AI citation patterns and what it means for your AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategies moving forward.
How Major AI Platforms Choose Sources
ChatGPT (with web-enabled search)
ChatGPT heavily favors established, factual sources. According to a study by Profound, nearly 48% of ChatGPT’s citations come from Wikipedia, with Reddit accounting for around 11%. Other highly cited sources include TechRadar, Forbes, NerdWallet, and Business Insider. ChatGPT tends to produce longer answers, averaging about 10 citations per response. It leans heavily on structured and widely recognised sources to boost credibility, sometimes at the cost of over-citation.
Despite being powered in part by Microsoft Bing, ChatGPT cites YouTube more than any other domain—about 11.3% of the time—drawing from transcripts and descriptions. This suggests that multi-format content, especially videos with strong metadata, can increase your chance of being referenced.
Google Gemini & AI Overviews
Google’s AI-powered summaries cite a broader mix of sources. Google’s engines blend authoritative sources with community input. Blogs accounted for nearly 39% of Gemini’s citations, with news sites and YouTube also playing key roles. AI Overviews, in particular, pull from the widest mix of sources: blog-style articles.
Another source found that Reddit leads with about 21%, followed by YouTube (19%), Quora, and LinkedIn. Wikipedia appears less frequently (5.7%), suggesting Google’s AI puts more weight on social proof and lived experience. These summaries average around 9 sources per answer, often skewing toward older, established domains—possibly reflecting Google’s preference for sites with long-standing authority.
For brands, this means a multi-faceted web presence is essential: high-quality blogs, news coverage, forum participation, and well-structured guides all contribute to visibility.
Bing Chat (Copilot)
Bing’s AI takes a more minimalist approach. Its responses are concise, with only about 3 sources cited per answer. According to research, WikiHow is its top source (6.3%), followed by other procedural and how-to websites. Unlike ChatGPT or Google, Bing references YouTube much less—under 1%—likely due to a preference for structured, text-heavy content. Since ChatGPT’s web mode also relies on Bing’s index, performing well on Bing can indirectly boost ChatGPT citations.
Perplexity AI: The Expert and Review Curator
Perplexity emphasizes trusted expert sources and specialized review sites. Based on research, blog/editorial content made up 38% of citations, with news, product blogs, and expert review platforms like NerdWallet and Consumer Reports also ranking highly. Perplexity does incorporate some UGC, but avoids low-quality sources. Its citation preference can vary by topic—finance queries favor finance sites, while ecommerce queries may surface Reddit threads.
Reddit accounts for nearly 46.7% of its citations, with StackExchange, TripAdvisor, and other forum-style sites also ranking highly. It responses favouring highly relevant, niche, or user-generated content over big-name outlets. If your content answers specific, uncommon questions well, Perplexity is more likely to find and cite it, even if your site has minimal traffic.
Why Citation Patterns Matter
Understanding these behaviours is crucial because AI-generated answers often influence user perception more than traditional search listings. According to Stanford research, only 51.5% of AI-generated sentences were fully supported by accurate citations. Moreover, 74.5% of linked sources actually supported their referenced claim, indicating that hallucination and misattribution are still common.
Despite this, AI citation visibility is becoming a powerful credibility signal. When users see your domain cited by ChatGPT or Google, it positions your brand as a trusted authority even if the user never clicks the link. That makes optimising for AEO and GEO more than a traffic strategy—it’s a reputation strategy.
What to Optimise for
Here’s how to align your content for each platform:
| Platform | Source Preference | Optimisation Tips |
| ChatGPT | Wikipedia, authoritative media, YouTube, major news sites | Build or edit Wikipedia entries; create video content with transcripts and strong metadata; get featured on reputable media and review sites; ensure content is structured and factual. |
| Google Gemini & AI Overviews | Blogs, Reddit, YouTube, Quora, LinkedIn, news sites, established domains | Publish high-quality blog content; participate in forums (Reddit, Quora); produce video content; get quoted on social platforms; secure mentions on established and authoritative sites. |
| Bing Chat (Copilot) | WikiHow, procedural/how-to sites, structured text content | Create well-structured tutorials, FAQs, and how-to guides; focus on concise, step-by-step content; optimize for Bing’s indexing. |
| Perplexity | Reddit, blogs/editorials, expert/review sites, forums | Answer specific, uncommon questions; contribute to forums and Q&A sites; publish on niche blogs; ensure content is factual and detailed; target expert/review platforms. |
The Crucial Link: Web Presence, Search Visibility, and AI Citations
Strong organic search presence and broad web visibility lead to AI citations, not the other way around. AI engines, especially those integrated with search like AI Overviews and Gemini, often use top-ranking search results as a primary input for generating answers. Brands with high visibility scores—reflecting detection rate and average rank—were frequently cited because they already dominated the conversation across various high-quality third-party sites.
Google emphasizes E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) for AI citations, sometimes citing authoritative lower-ranking pages over less credible top-ranking ones.
Beyond SEO: Structuring Content for AI-Driven Search Success
The age of answer engines isn’t coming, it’s already here. Traditional SEO signals still matter, but they’re no longer enough. If your content isn’t structured, cited, or community-validated in ways that appeal to these AI models, it risks invisibility in AI-generated outputs.
By aligning your strategy with the distinct citation behaviours of tools like ChatGPT, Google AI, Bing, and Perplexity, you’re not just chasing traffic but you’re building trust in a machine-mediated information landscape. Mastering AEO and GEO means understanding not only how these systems work, but also why they surface what they do. The content you create today will either power tomorrow’s answers, or be excluded from them entirely.
At Cleverus, we stay ahead of digital trends so your business can too. Our specialists leverage the latest insights in AI-driven search and E-E-A-T best practices to position your brand as a trusted authority, across both traditional and emerging platforms.
If you want to future-proof your online presence and secure visibility in tomorrow’s AI-powered search results, book your free consultation today and work together to craft a strategy tailored for real, lasting impact.
Reference
https://www.uxtigers.com/post/geo-guidelines
https://searchengineland.com/how-to-get-cited-by-ai-seo-insights-from-8000-ai-citations-455284
https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/ai-platform-citation-patterns
https://seranking.com/blog/chatgpt-vs-perplexity-vs-google-vs-bing-comparison-research
https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ai-generated-citations-are-often-wrong
