Stock Media and UGC Platforms in AI answers

Data as of Oct 22, 2026Based on 107 AI responsesReviewed by Dimitry Apollonsky

AI summary

Pexels holds a wide lead across the market, frequently recommended for diverse imagery, vertical video clips, and free commercial use without attribution. For authentic, non-posed photography, Stocksy is the usual answer instead.

What’s changing · since July

Since July, Artlistrising has become one of the three most named brands for social media manager subscriptions. Over the same period, TONLrising has gained visibility across buyer questions, while Pixabayfalling is cited less across the market.

Most-mentioned brands

Rank and Mentioned in · since Jul 5

#	Brand	Mentioned in	Recommended for
1	Pexels 68% free commercial photography, trending vertical videos, and diverse contributor libraries	68%	free commercial photography, trending vertical videos, and diverse contributor libraries
2	Unsplash Owned by Getty Images 50% polished imagery and documentary-style photography with free commercial licensing	50%	polished imagery and documentary-style photography with free commercial licensing
2	Envato Elements Envato product line 46% unlimited download subscriptions covering graphics, templates, and social media assets	46%	unlimited download subscriptions covering graphics, templates, and social media assets
2	Nappy 43% authentic, high-resolution photos focused specifically on Black and Brown people	43%	authentic, high-resolution photos focused specifically on Black and Brown people
2	Pixabay 41% massive mixed media libraries of free clips, photos, and motion graphics	41%	massive mixed media libraries of free clips, photos, and motion graphics
6	Adobe Stock Adobe product line 40% deep Creative Cloud integration and massive traditional professional asset collections	40%	deep Creative Cloud integration and massive traditional professional asset collections
6	Artlist 31% high-production lifestyle footage and video-first subscriptions for content creators	31%	high-production lifestyle footage and video-first subscriptions for content creators
8	Storyblocks 30% unlimited 4K video downloads, motion backgrounds, and YouTube copyright support	30%	unlimited 4K video downloads, motion backgrounds, and YouTube copyright support
8	Shutterstock 27% vast traditional media archives, celebrity coverage, and advanced search filters	27%	vast traditional media archives, celebrity coverage, and advanced search filters
10	Motion Array 18% all-in-one video templates and editing assets for social media teams	18%	all-in-one video templates and editing assets for social media teams
10	Canva 18%	18%
12	Adobe 10%	10%
12	Affect the Verb 9%	9%
12	All Go 9%	9%
12	Picnoi 8%	8%
12	Burst by Shopify Shopify product line 8%	8%
12	Gender Spectrum Collection VICE product line 8%	8%
12	Creative Market Owned by Tiny 7%	7%
12	Artgrid 7%	7%
12	Adobe Express Adobe product line 7%	7%
21	Envato 5%	5%
21	Mixkit Owned by Envato 5%	5%
21	RawPixel 4%	4%
21	CreateHER Stock 4%	4%
21	Freepik 4%	4%
21	WOC in Tech Chat 4%	4%
21	Google Fonts Alphabet product line 4%	4%
21	Figma 3%	3%
21	GraphicRiver 3%	3%
21	UI8 3%	3%
21	Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe product line 3%	3%
21	StockSnap 2%	2%
21	TONL 2%	2%
21	Doodl 2%	2%
35	Pexels Diversity Collection Pexels product line 1%	1%
35	Artlist Max Artlist product line 1%	1%
35	FILMPAC 1%	1%
35	Yellow Images 1%	1%
35	Pixeden 1%	1%
35	MockupTree 1%	1%
35	Body Liberation Photos 1%	1%
35	Vecteezy 1%	1%
35	Haute Stock 1%	1%
35	FOCA Stock 1%	1%
35	Social Stocks 1%	1%
35	Lumte 1%	1%
35	Shopify 1%	1%
35	Creative Fabrica 1%	1%
35	VICE 1%	1%
35	Font Squirrel 1%	1%
35	Behance Owned by Adobe 1%	1%
35	The Getty 1%	1%
35	Images of Empowerment 1%	1%
35	iStock Owned by Getty Images 1%	1%
35	CapCut 1%	1%
35	Notion 1%	1%
35	Fontspring 1%	1%
35	Opus Clip 1%	1%
35	Coverr 1%	1%

Who leads each AI engine

ChatGPT SearchChatGPT Search: =1Pexels Unsplash Adobe Stock
Google AI ModeGoogle AI Mode: Pexels

Mentioned in on each engineChatGPT SearchGoogle AI Mode

Widest split: Pixabay, 28% on ChatGPT Search and 55% on Google AI Mode.

Mentioned in on each AI engine, by brand
Brand	ChatGPT Search	Google AI Mode
Pexels	63%	74%
Unsplash	54%	47%
Pixabay	28%	55%
Envato Elements	46%	45%
Nappy	46%	40%
Adobe Stock	52%	28%
Artlist	41%	21%
Storyblocks	28%	32%
Shutterstock	39%	15%
Motion Array	7%	28%

Questions by topic1

Stock photo site with diverse representation and no attribution
- I am looking for a stock photo site that offers diverse representation and does not require attribution.
- Where can I find stock images that are diverse and don't require me to credit the photographer?
- I need a source for stock photos that are free of attribution requirements and include a wide range of diverse representation.

I'm a Social Media Manager, and I'm tired of making content from scratch. What's the best stock video and photo subscription for social media content?
I need a stock photography site that focuses on authentic, non-posed imagery.

Sources AI cites99

41% of citations point at the ranked brands’ own sites. photutorial.com, youtube.com, reddit.com are the most-cited sites outside the ranked brands’ own domains.

Stock Media and UGC Platforms in AI answers

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Most-mentioned brands

Questions by topic1

Sources AI cites99

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