Parse research

Repeatable data studies on how AI answer engines cite sources and recommend brands, each one measured against the public Parse index. Guidance and commentary live on the blog.

7.66%of cited-page links pointed to guide-labeled pages

Do guides get cited by AI?

Yes, but not often. Guide-labeled pages supplied 569,300 of 7,434,246 cited-page links, or 7.66%, across ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode.

September 1, 202611 min read

0.36%of cited-page links pointed to FAQ-labeled pages

Do FAQ pages get cited by AI?

Rarely. Pages labeled as FAQs supplied 26,426 of 7,434,246 cited-page links across ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode.

August 30, 202610 min read

48.6%of the citations behind AI recommendations come from vendor sites

Who publishes the pages behind AI buying advice?

Largely the sellers. Of 3,805,095 citations backing ranked brand recommendations, 48.6% came from vendor sites — 28.2% from the recommended brand itself — while commercial media supplied 20.0%.

August 29, 202611 min read

1 in 5top-1,000 recommended brands are sub-brands of a larger owner

Who owns the brands AI recommends?

Fewer companies than the list suggests. 203 of the top 1,000 brands AI recommends, about 1 in 5, are sub-brands of a larger owner. Alphabet alone owns 30 of them.

August 29, 202610 min read

46.6%of owned citations point to blog and comparison pages

Which pages on a brand's own site earn AI citations?

Mostly its editorial pages. Of 5,635,394 citations of pages on 236,813 brand websites, 46.6% pointed to blog and comparison pages. Pricing pages got 0.17%.

August 29, 202610 min read

72.4%of high-value adjectives have no majority owner

Which brand owns each adjective in AI answers?

Mostly nobody. Of 615 high-value adjective-category pairs, only 170, or 27.6%, have a majority owner. The words buyers decide on are still unclaimed.

August 29, 20269 min read

40.5% vs 41.5%repeat-answer brand-list overlap, ChatGPT Search vs Google AI Mode

Which AI engine changes its answers the most?

Nearly a tie. Ask the same question again and ChatGPT Search keeps 40.5% of its brand list while Google AI Mode keeps 41.5% — and the less stable engine changes month to month.

August 29, 202610 min read

1 in 6checked AI citation links did not land on the cited address

Where do AI citation links actually go?

Not always where they point. Of 157,154 cited addresses checked to a verdict, 16.7% did not land on the address in the answer. Moved links outnumber dead ones 12 to 1.

August 29, 202610 min read

13.7xspread in hedge rates across 209 markets

Where does AI give a straight answer, and where does it hedge?

It depends on the market. Hedged recommendations ranged from 1.6% of reviewed ranked-brand appearances in warehouse robotics to 22.6% in Ethereum DeFi tokens, a 13.7x spread.

August 29, 202611 min read

44%of decisive verdicts went to the lower-ranked brand

When does AI pick the smaller brand over the leader?

Often. In 44% of decisive head-to-head verdicts inside AI answers, the win went to the lower-ranked brand. On cost, the smaller brand won 58% of the time.

August 29, 20269 min read

19.6%of own-site citations used the retired domain

When a brand changes its domain, does AI notice?

Eventually. Across 15 verified brand domain changes, 19.6% of 12,875 AI citations to those brands' own sites still used the retired domain — almost all of it for domains retired in 2024.

August 29, 202610 min read

65%of matched pairs changed the first-named brand after searching

What happens when ChatGPT searches the web?

The brand answer changes. Across 43,757 matched answer pairs, ChatGPT's searched answer named the same first brand as its no-search answer only 35% of the time.

August 29, 202610 min read

13 to 1feature requirements versus price in AI buying answers

What do AI buying questions optimize for?

Features and workflows, not price. Of 920,930 AI brand recommendations anchored to a specific buyer need, 4.1% optimized for price — features outnumbered price 13 to 1.

August 29, 202610 min read

4 → 6median brands per Google AI Mode answer, June to August

Is AI naming fewer brands per answer over time?

No. On the same 15,037 prompts asked every month, Google AI Mode named 25% more brands per answer in August than June, and its median answer grew from 4 brands to 6.

August 29, 202610 min read

3 daysmedian server-reported content age at citation

How old are the pages AI cites?

Much younger than page age suggests. Among 116,379 citations with a measurable server-reported modification date, the median page was modified 3 days before the answer that cited it.

August 29, 202610 min read

3.0%of cited-page links had a review label

How often does AI cite review pages?

About one in thirty-four links. Pages with a review label in the title or address supplied 221,395 of 7,434,246 cited-page links.

August 29, 202611 min read

63%of markets replaced their AI #1 within 64 days

How long does a brand stay AI's #1 pick?

Not long. In 963 of 1,524 AI-ranked markets, the #1 brand lost the top spot at least once in 64 days. The median completed reign lasted 12 days.

August 29, 202611 min read

11.7% vs 38.0%brand overlap: reworded question vs identical rerun

Does question wording change which brands AI names?

Yes, a lot. Two phrasings of the same buyer question shared 11.7% of named brands on average; the identical phrasing re-asked one to three days later shared 38.0%.

August 29, 20269 min read

21.9%of cited brands were the answer's #1 recommendation

Does being cited in AI answers mean being recommended?

No. A cited brand almost always makes the shortlist, but it was the answer's #1 recommendation only 21.9% of the time across 1,189,703 cited brand-answer pairs.

August 29, 202610 min read

1.3 vs 1.0own-company recommendation tilt, ChatGPT Search vs Google AI Mode

Does AI favor its own company's products?

Only slightly, and the larger tilt is ChatGPT's. Google AI Mode recommended an Alphabet product on 15.2% of 17,726 matched prompts vs ChatGPT Search's 14.7%; ChatGPT Search recommended an OpenAI product on 5.2% vs 4.0%.

August 29, 202610 min read

88.6%of qualified market cells change winner

Does adding 'for enterprise' change who AI recommends?

Usually. In 457 of 516 market-qualifier pairs, the brand AI recommends most under an audience, budget, or compliance qualifier is not the market's overall winner.

August 29, 202610 min read

40.5%of checked praise citations were not backed by the cited page

Do the pages AI cites actually support what AI says?

Often not. In 48,492 of 119,869 checked praise-citation pairs, the page AI cited for a brand did not read positive about that brand.

August 29, 202610 min read

7 of 10metrics split by 2.6x or more between engines

The AI engine report card

Close on which brands to name, far apart on everything else. On the same 17,083 prompts, 7 of 10 report-card metrics split by 2.6 times or more between ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode.

August 29, 202611 min read

1.1%of cited-page links used an explicit pricing or cost label

How often does AI cite pricing and cost pages?

Rarely. Pages with an explicit pricing or cost term in their address supplied 81,133 of 7,434,246 cited-page links.

August 28, 202611 min read

26.2%of ranked brand-page links had titles naming the brand

Do AI-cited page titles name the brand?

Only about one in four do. The title named the attached ranked brand in 943,930 of 3,600,767 observed brand-page links.

August 27, 202611 min read

4.7%of cited-page links used an explicit comparison label

How often does AI cite comparison pages?

At least one in twenty-one. Pages with an explicit comparison term in their address supplied 352,550 of 7,434,246 cited-page links.

August 26, 202610 min read

4.2%of reviewed ranked-brand appearances were framed as alternatives

How often does AI call a brand an alternative?

About one in twenty-four times. AI framed 89,979 of 2,148,490 reviewed ranked-brand appearances as alternatives.

August 25, 202610 min read

9.9%of reviewed ranked-brand appearances carried a reservation

How often does AI recommend a brand with reservations?

About one in ten times. AI added a reservation to 192,153 of 1,946,450 reviewed ranked-brand appearances.

August 24, 202611 min read

26.0%of affected same-brand comparisons carried criticism in both answers

Does AI keep criticizing the same brand?

Only about one in four times. Criticism appeared in both adjacent answers in 21,346 of 82,007 affected same-brand comparisons.

August 23, 202611 min read

7.2%of ranked brand appearances carried both praise and criticism

Does AI praise and criticize the same brand?

Sometimes. Of 1,564,880 ranked brand appearances, 112,376 included both praise and criticism about the same brand.

August 22, 202611 min read

88.0%of matched comparisons had the same winner

Do ChatGPT and Google pick the same brand in head-to-head comparisons?

Usually. In 375 of 426 matched comparisons, ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode picked the same brand as the winner.

August 21, 202611 min read

8.4%of affected same-brand comparisons carried criticism on both engines

Do ChatGPT and Google criticize the same brands?

Rarely. When at least one engine criticized a brand that both ranked for the same prompt, both did so in only 1,656 of 19,811 matched comparisons.

August 14, 202611 min read

65.9%of observed brand criticisms had no attached cited page

Does AI cite sources when it criticizes a brand?

Usually not. Of 64,899 times AI criticized a ranked brand, 42,748 had no cited page attached to that brand in the same answer.

August 13, 202612 min read

81.2%of descriptions for brands ranked fourth or lower were positive

Does AI praise the brands it ranks first?

More often, but praise is common throughout the list. AI used positive language in 640,708 of 788,976 descriptions for brands ranked fourth or lower.

August 12, 202611 min read

16.7%of multi-brand answers cited every ranked brand

Does AI cite every brand it recommends?

Rarely. Of 227,755 AI answers that recommended at least two brands, 37,986 attached at least one cited page to every ranked brand.

August 11, 202611 min read

7.9%of cleaned cited pages appeared with different ranked brands across prompts

Does AI reuse cited pages for different brands?

Rarely. AI reused 37,773 of 475,522 cleaned cited pages with different ranked brands across different organic prompts.

August 9, 202612 min read

14.1%of cleaned cited pages appeared for more than one organic prompt

Can one page earn AI citations for many questions?

Rarely. Only 311,467 of 2,207,436 cleaned cited pages appeared for more than one organic prompt.

August 8, 202610 min read

6.1 to 12026-titled pages out-drew 2025-titled pages in citation links

Does AI prefer pages with the current year in the title?

Yes, heavily. Pages titled 2026 drew 980,656 of 1,204,884 citation links to pages with a year in the title, or 81.4%, and 56.0% of cited answers cited at least one 2026-titled page.

August 7, 202610 min read

47.3%of pairs with no repeated cited page kept the same top brand

Does AI keep the same recommendation when its sources change?

Almost half the time. The top recommendation stayed the same in 12,243 of 25,883 back-to-back answers to the same prompt where no cited page repeated.

August 7, 202611 min read

29.4%of shared brand-pair comparisons reversed order

Do ChatGPT and Google rank brands in the same order?

Usually, but not reliably. When both engines ranked the same two brands, they put them in opposite order in 54,462 of 185,036 comparisons.

August 6, 202611 min read

53.5%of shared-page pairs still chose different top brands

Do shared sources lead to the same AI recommendation?

Usually not. Even when ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode cited the same page, they chose different top brands in 5,267 of 9,854 matched answer pairs.

August 5, 202611 min read

9.2%fewer pages after tracking removal

Do tracking parameters inflate AI citation counts?

Yes, especially on ChatGPT Search. Removing eight standard tracking parameters collapsed 39,146 of 424,433 distinct citation addresses, reducing the observed cited-page count by 9.2%.

August 4, 202610 min read

8.6%of cited pages in answers backed more than one ranked brand

Does AI attach one cited page to multiple brands?

Yes. Of the 830,619 times an answer tied a cited page to a ranked brand, 71,844 tied the same page to two or more brands in that answer.

August 1, 202611 min read

3.6%of matched answer pairs shared a cited page for the same top brand

When ChatGPT and Google recommend the same top brand, do they cite the same page?

Almost never. When both engines chose and cited the same top brand, they shared a cited page for it in 309 of 8,612 matched answer pairs.

July 31, 202611 min read

3.6%of top recommendations included a specific negative claim

Does AI criticize its top recommendation?

Sometimes. Of 150,193 top-ranked brand recommendations, 5,460 came with a specific negative claim about the brand in the same AI answer.

July 30, 202610 min read

41.0%of clear cited-page leaders ranked first

Does the brand with the most citations rank first?

Usually not. The brand attached to more cited pages than any other recommended brand ranked first in 42,552 of 103,679 eligible AI answers.

July 29, 202611 min read

36.2%of matched answer pairs chose the same top brand

Do ChatGPT and Google recommend the same top brand?

Only about one in three times. ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode chose the same top brand in 29,616 of 81,800 matched same-prompt answer pairs.

July 28, 202610 min read

67.6%of brand-owned citation links pointed to a deeper website page

Does AI cite brand homepages?

Usually not. Of 289,494 brand-owned citation links, 195,720 pointed to a deeper website page rather than the homepage.

July 27, 202610 min read

43.6%of consecutive same-prompt answers changed the top recommendation

Does AI recommend the same brand when you ask again?

Only about six in ten times. The top recommendation stayed the same in 90,817 of 161,023 consecutive same-prompt, same-engine answer pairs, or 56.4%.

July 26, 202611 min read

9.3%of answers named a different brand before the first recommendation

Is the first brand AI names actually a recommendation?

Usually. The first named brand was also the first recommendation in 228,907 of 252,418 AI answers, or 90.7%; 9.3% named a different brand first.

July 25, 202610 min read

59.3%of answers with at least two cited pages cited one website more than once

Does AI cite the same website more than once?

In nearly six in ten answers with at least two cited pages. AI cited multiple pages from the same website in 251,446 of 423,921 such answers.

July 24, 202610 min read

52.8%of top-ranked brand recommendations had an attached citation

Does AI cite sources for its top brand recommendation?

Only about half. Of 215,349 top-ranked brand recommendations, 113,609 had at least one citation attached to that brand in the same AI answer.

July 23, 202610 min read

0.41%of citations pointed to identifiable PDFs

How often does AI cite PDFs?

Rarely. Of 3,954,548 citations in ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode answers, 16,075 pointed to identifiable PDFs.

July 22, 20269 min read

5.1%of reviewed links came from a competitor website

How often does AI cite a competitor's website?

About one in twenty. Of 136,478 reviewed links between cited pages and recommended brands, 6,965 came from a different brand in the same market.

July 21, 202610 min read

76.4%of same-prompt brand comparisons shared no exact wording

Do ChatGPT and Google use the same words for brands?

Usually not. ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode shared no exact description word or phrase in 59,707 of 78,167 matched comparisons.

July 20, 202610 min read

82.3%of prompts where Google AI Mode cited a Google-owned page

Do AI engines cite their own websites?

Google's does, on most answers. Google AI Mode cited a Google-owned page on 15,100 of 18,350 matched prompts. ChatGPT Search cited one on 2,032, or 11.1%.

July 20, 20269 min read

36.4%of shared-website answers land on the same page

Do ChatGPT and Google cite the same page?

Usually not. When both engines cited the same website for the same question, they landed on at least one identical page in 19,323 of 53,032 cases.

July 20, 20269 min read

4.9% to 3.8%Reddit's share of citations on the matched prompts

Is Reddit's share of AI citations growing?

No, not in this window. Reddit's share fell from 4.9% to 3.8% on the same 15,769 prompts while YouTube rose from 3.9% to 5.2%.

July 18, 20269 min read

27.2%of citations behind ranked brands point to their own website

How often does AI cite a brand's own website?

Often. Of 1,060,513 page citations tied to ranked brand recommendations, 288,629 pointed to the recommended brand's own website.

July 17, 20269 min read

1.6%Share of eligible AI-cited pages that limited access

How often do AI-cited pages block access?

Rarely. Of 154,986 pages checked after their latest recorded citation, 2,435 returned 401, 403, or 429.

July 17, 20269 min read

0.42%of reviewed AI statements recommend against the brand

How often does AI recommend against a brand?

Rarely. Of 1,290,741 reviewed AI statements about brands, 5,403 said a brand was not recommended for the stated need.

July 16, 20269 min read

0.67%of eligible AI-cited pages returned 404 or 410

How often do AI citations lead to broken pages?

Rarely. Of 152,313 AI-cited pages checked at or after their latest recorded citation, 1,015 returned 404 or 410.

July 16, 20269 min read

10.7%of resolved brand mentions used a known alias

Does AI use different names for the same brand?

Yes. AI used a known alias in 188,527 of 1,762,994 resolved brand mentions.

July 16, 20269 min read

5.0 to 1positive tone shifts for every negative shift

Does AI make brands sound better than cited sources?

AI often does. Across 512,650 brand-citation tone pairs, positive shifts outnumbered negative shifts 207,858 to 41,615.

July 16, 20269 min read

15.7%of repeated matched comparisons changed the winner

Does AI change its mind when comparing brands?

Sometimes. On the same prompt and criterion, one AI engine picked a different brand winner in 383 of 2,438 repeated matchups.

July 16, 20269 min read

38.5%of checked citation pages did not mention the attached brand

Do AI-cited pages actually mention the brand?

Not always. In 80,623 of 209,116 reviewed citations, the cited page did not mention the brand attached to the citation.

July 16, 20269 min read

The single-engine trap in AI brand visibility

Most brands AI recommends are not cross-engine winners. Asking the same questions on both ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, 73.8% of recommended brands appeared on only one engine.

July 8, 20268 min read

0categories where G2 or Capterra is #1

The directory tax is a myth: G2 and Capterra are #1 in 0 of 835 categories

The common generative-engine-optimization advice says one directory listing can control whether AI recommends you. In Parse's category evidence, the directory chokepoint mostly is not there.

July 8, 20268 min read

6.2%average cited-source overlap per prompt

ChatGPT Search vs Google AI Mode: same brands, different sources

The two newest AI search surfaces do not read the same web. On the same 18,206 prompts, ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode share only 6.2% of cited sources per prompt, while sharing 27.6% of named brands.

July 8, 20268 min read

81%Consumer Electronics top-brand share

AI brand recommendation concentration by industry

AI does not recommend brands with the same shape in every market. Consumer electronics is winner-take-most; B2B software is an open list.

July 8, 20268 min read

21%ChatGPT repeat-answer source overlap

AI citation volatility by industry: one-shot checks miss the signal

Ask the same AI question again and the cited sources usually change. Across repeated runs, ChatGPT answers shared only about 21% of their cited sources, and every industry showed high churn.

July 8, 20268 min read

60%of AI's most-cited pages are best-of listicles

What pages AI cites most: best-of listicles dominate

Domain studies tell you AI loves Reddit, YouTube, and Wikipedia. The page level shows what it actually pulls from them: six in ten of AI's most-cited pages are “Best X” listicles.

June 30, 20268 min read

#819r/technology's rank; r/devops is #1

The subreddits that move AI's brand recommendations

AI leans on Reddit to decide which brands to name, but the communities doing the work are not the giant general subs. By brand-recommendation weight, r/devops leads and r/technology ranks #819.

June 30, 20268 min read

93%of categories share the same #1 brand on both engines

ChatGPT vs Google: same winner, different shortlist

The popular line is that AI engines disagree about who wins. They don't. Across 1,655 buyer categories ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews pick the same #1 brand 93% of the time. What they disagree about is everyone else on the list.

June 30, 20268 min read

42%of top-100 brands churned out in 5 months

AI recommendation movers: how sticky is the top?

Two snapshots of where AI ranks brands, five months apart, on the same set of brands. The top is sticky but not frozen: four in ten of the top-100 brands churned out. A one-time AI-visibility reading is a weak signal.

June 30, 20268 min read

23.6%of top pairings are mutual rivals

AI competitor analysis: who AI pairs your brand with

The brand AI names next to yours is a mutual rival only 23.6% of the time. A map of 153,572 brand pairings shows how lopsided AI's competitive set really is.

June 26, 20268 min read

5median brands named per answer

How many brands AI names in one answer

AI almost never names one brand. The typical brand-naming answer lists a median of five distinct brands, and fewer than one in twenty names a single brand.

June 26, 20267 min read

~50%of citations vanish by the next run

How long an AI citation lasts

Ask AI the same question twice and it rarely cites the same sources. About half of a query's citations vanish by the next run, but a durable core persists for weeks.

June 26, 20267 min read

85%of brand descriptors are generic praise

What words AI uses to describe brands

AI calls almost every brand excellent. Across 719,860 descriptors, 85% are positive and most are interchangeable praise. The asset is owning the word it won't share.

June 25, 20268 min read

−48%sources cited per answer after one upgrade

How a ChatGPT model upgrade cut AI citations in half

When ChatGPT's flagship upgraded, the sources behind each answer fell from 23 to 12 overnight. An unchanged control engine held steady, isolating the cut to the model.

June 25, 20267 min read

50.7%of two-axis matchups split the verdict

How AI picks a winner in head-to-head comparisons

When AI compares two brands on more than one thing, it picks a different winner about half the time. There is no single winner, only a winner per axis.

June 25, 20268 min read

2,831buyer questions no brand owns yet

AI recommendation white space: questions no brand owns

Across thousands of buyer questions, many have no brand AI consistently recommends. A map of the open white space by industry.

June 24, 20267 min read

1 in 8named brands are the actual pick

Mention vs recommendation: when AI actually picks you

Being named in an AI answer is not the same as being recommended. Only about one in eight named brands is the answer's actual pick.

June 24, 20267 min read

8.4%YouTube's lead over Reddit in citations

YouTube vs Reddit: which source AI cites most

YouTube ranks first among cited source domains, but only 8.4% ahead of Reddit, and Reddit reaches more distinct questions. A look at the top seven.

May 9, 20266 min read

44.8%of cited evidence is community and social

Which domains AI cites most in its answers

A source-domain view of AI answers: which domains supply the evidence behind AI recommendations, and why community platforms are not a side channel.

May 8, 20266 min read