Research · October 2026
Your website is the anchor. How AI chooses which businesses to recommend.
We asked AI assistants 58,265 buyer questions about 40,147 businesses in 10 countries and recorded every business they named and every source they cited. The answers are built mostly from business websites, and most of the businesses AI recommends had their own website among the sources.
84.8%Of 383,197 citations. Directories 1.2%, review sites 0.4%.
95.4%Against 26.3% when it didn't.
71%Against 53% when the cited page didn't.
259,69387.3% appeared only once. There is no fixed list.
In short
- 84.8% of the sources AI cited were business websites. Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn, Quora and social media together were 0.3%.
- AI leans on the websites of the businesses it recommends: 60.8% of citations were the own websites of businesses named in that answer, and 62.6% of the businesses AI named had their own site cited.
- When AI cited a business's own website, it named that business in 95.4% of answers. When it didn't, 26.3%.
- Specific pages go with the top spot: businesses whose service or other inner pages were cited came first 63% to 68% of the time, against 47% for homepage only. A page naming the buyer's city: 71%, against 53%.
- The reasons AI gave are facts businesses publish on their own sites: services (70.6% of mentions), location (48.3%), clients and projects (42%), price (38.6%) and experience (34.9%).
- AI named 259,693 different businesses and 87.3% of them only once. It picks for each question, from the pages it finds.
The study
What we tested. And when.
Each business was tested on the question its own buyer would ask an AI assistant, written from its website, usually naming the city or country it sells in.
- 72,712
- 40,147
- 58,265
- 10
- 189
- 18
- 383,197
- 241,150
- 294,236
- 19 August to 25 October 2026
Assistants: ChatGPT (61,825 answers) and Gemini (10,886), both with web search on, plus a six-assistant test on 24 October 2026. Countries: United States, Australia, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands.
Finding 1
84.8% of what AI cites is business websites. Everything else is a sliver.
Across 383,197 citations in 67,323 answers with sources, 94.7% of answers cited at least one business website. It held on both assistants: 84.6% of ChatGPT's citations and 88% of Gemini's.
- Business websites84.8%
- Publishers, guides and large firms9.2%
- Government and education2.5%
- Directories and listing portals1.2%
- Marketplaces and retailers1%
- Google Maps and Business Profile0.5%
- Review and booking sites0.4%
- Social media, forums and wikis0.3%
Share of 383,197 citations. Each cited site counts once per answer. Social media, forums and wikis include Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn and Quora.
Finding 2
AI builds its shortlist from the shortlisted businesses' own websites.
On the 29,182 ChatGPT answers from 18 to 25 October, where every business named can be matched to its website, most of what AI cited was the websites of the very businesses it recommended.
60.8%
62.6%
89%24% cited the site of every business they named.
Finding 3
When AI cites your website, it names you. 95.4% of the time.
Across all 72,654 answers, being named and having your own website cited went together almost every time. One answer can't separate cause and effect, so we report it as a correlation.
- Its own website was cited95.4%
- Its own website was not cited26.3%
Finding 4
Specific pages go with the top spot. Service pages and city pages.
Most pages AI cited from business websites were homepages. But when AI named and ranked the business asked about, the ones whose service pages, inner pages or city pages were cited came first far more often.
Pages AI cited from business websites
- Homepage61.5%
- Product or service page17%
- Other inner page14.6%
- Blog, news or guide3.1%
- Location or branch page1.8%
- About or team page1.1%
Share of 213,564 business pages cited, sorted by web address.
How often the business came first
- Only its homepage was citedn = 4,47146.9%
- A product or service page was citedn = 1,01463.1%
- Another inner page was citedn = 1,49467.5%
- The cited page didn't name the buyer's cityn = 1,73253.3%
- The cited page named the buyer's cityn = 33171%
When a question named a city, 52.5% of answers cited at least one business page that named it.
Finding 5
The reasons AI gives come from your website.
We read what AI wrote about each business it named: 294,236 mentions. The reasons were mostly facts a business publishes on its own site. Reviews came up in 14.4%.
- Services or specialization70.6%
- Location or service area48.3%
- Clients, scale or notable projects42%
- Price or value38.6%
- Speed, availability or convenience36.4%
- Experience and track record34.9%
- Product range or stock23.9%
- Credentials, certifications or awards19.8%
- Reviews and ratings14.4%
One mention can carry several reasons, so the bars add up to more than 100%.
Finding 6
There is no fixed list. AI builds a new shortlist for every question.
AI named a median of 5 businesses per answer, yet 259,693 different businesses across the study. Businesses named for 10 or more different questions took just 3.6% of mentions.
5
87.3%
58.8%Outside the US: .com.au, .co.uk, .co.nz and so on.
Finding 7
About half of businesses were named for their own buyer's question.
48.5% were named the first time their question was asked (47.1% on ChatGPT, 55.2% on Gemini), and 50.6% in at least one answer. Questions that named a city named the business 52.8% of the time, against 46.8% for those that didn't. Asking again in more natural words got 7.1% of previously unnamed businesses named.
By industry
18 industries. What AI cited, and why.
Business websites carried most citations in every industry, from 76% in real estate, where property portals matter, to 93.2% for marketing and creative agencies. Open an industry for the sources, pages and reasons behind it.
| Answers | Businesses | Named on first answer | Business websites, share of citations | Named businesses with own site cited | Service pages, share of business pages | City questions citing a page for that city | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail and consumer brands | 9,202 | 5,880 | 48.9% | 81.5% | 65% | 17.9% | 53.2% |
| Manufacturing and industrial supply | 8,262 | 4,963 | 52.6% | 90.4% | 62.8% | 20.9% | 39.3% |
| Software and SaaS | 7,841 | 5,081 | 42.3% | 83.3% | 57.4% | 13.9% | 52.6% |
| Legal and professional services | 5,952 | 3,082 | 39% | 85.3% | 65.5% | 19.8% | 53.4% |
| Construction, architecture and engineering | 5,736 | 3,118 | 44.4% | 84.2% | 63.2% | 14.2% | 48% |
| Real estate and property | 4,884 | 2,913 | 46.3% | 76% | 57.7% | 10.2% | 53% |
| Home services and trades | 4,771 | 2,700 | 53.2% | 90.1% | 61.8% | 17.2% | 50.8% |
| Food and beverage | 4,085 | 2,482 | 57.8% | 86.8% | 60.1% | 18.7% | 49.8% |
| Health and medical | 3,692 | 1,966 | 52.7% | 85.8% | 60.3% | 19.5% | 48.9% |
| Financial services and insurance | 3,602 | 1,998 | 44% | 80.9% | 62.9% | 18% | 51.8% |
| Education and training | 2,028 | 1,011 | 54.6% | 87% | 64% | 19.1% | 59.6% |
| Hospitality, travel and events | 1,919 | 1,268 | 56.3% | 87.6% | 69.1% | 11.2% | 68.8% |
| Beauty, wellness and personal care | 1,638 | 1,028 | 50.6% | 85.6% | 62.2% | 20.8% | 47.8% |
| IT services and cybersecurity | 1,282 | 999 | 27.8% | 84.9% | 69.2% | 19.2% | 58.5% |
| Automotive | 1,205 | 783 | 60.1% | 86.9% | 59% | 14.1% | n/a |
| Logistics and transport | 923 | 599 | 42.4% | 84.6% | 64.7% | 19% | n/a |
| Marketing, design and creative | 862 | 590 | 42.8% | 93.2% | 82.2% | 15.9% | 60% |
| Energy and utilities | 808 | 513 | 46.4% | 79.4% | 60.9% | 19.4% | n/a |
n/a: fewer than 100 answers to city questions, or too few named businesses, to report.
Retail and consumer brands
- Marketplaces were the one third party that mattered: Target, Walmart and Etsy in the US, Myntra in India, The Iconic in Australia and John Lewis in the UK.
- Product and category pages were 17.9% of the business pages AI cited.
- After the products themselves, AI talked about price (53.2% of mentions) and range (44.8%).
- Business websites81.5%
- Publishers, guides and large firms11.6%
- Marketplaces and retailers4.6%
- Government and education1%
- Homepage59.3%
- Product or service page17.9%
- Location or branch page1.5%
- Other inner page16.9%
- Services or specialization68.9%
- Price or value53.2%
- Product range or stock44.8%
- Speed, availability or convenience40.3%
- Named businesses with own site cited65%
- Named when its site was cited94.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited29.3%
Manufacturing and industrial supply
- Business websites carried 90.4% of citations. B2B directories mattered in India, where TradeIndia appeared in 13.2% of manufacturing answers, and Thomasnet appeared in 5.8% of US answers.
- Product and capability pages were 20.9% of the business pages cited, more than in most industries.
- AI described suppliers by where they serve (44.9%) and who they supply (42.0%).
- Business websites90.4%
- Publishers, guides and large firms4.9%
- Government and education1.9%
- Directories and listing portals1.8%
- Homepage58%
- Product or service page20.9%
- Location or branch page0.8%
- Other inner page15.5%
- Services or specialization64.1%
- Location or service area44.9%
- Clients, scale or notable projects42%
- Experience and track record29%
- Named businesses with own site cited62.8%
- Named when its site was cited96.5%
- Named when its site wasn't cited27.7%
Software and SaaS
- One of the hardest industries: 42.3% of businesses were named for their own buyer's question.
- When AI named a software business, it cited that business's own site 68.3% of the time, the most of any industry.
- Analyst and software review sites (Gartner, G2) and the app stores were the third parties. AI described products by features and use cases (88.9%) and named customers (58.2%).
- Business websites83.3%
- Publishers, guides and large firms12.5%
- Government and education1.8%
- Marketplaces and retailers0.8%
- Homepage65.7%
- Product or service page13.9%
- Location or branch page0.3%
- Other inner page12.5%
- Services or specialization88.9%
- Clients, scale or notable projects58.2%
- Speed, availability or convenience54.3%
- Price or value54%
- Named businesses with own site cited57.4%
- Named when its site was cited94.4%
- Named when its site wasn't cited16.9%
Legal and professional services
- Hard to win: 39.0% named, and 31.7% in the US.
- Google Business Profile links (4.8% of answers) and legal rankings (Chambers, Doyle's Guide, Best Law Firms) were the third parties.
- AI described firms by location (57.7%), clients (54.8%) and experience (50.6%).
- Business websites85.3%
- Publishers, guides and large firms10.9%
- Government and education2.3%
- Google Maps and Business Profile0.7%
- Homepage61.9%
- Product or service page19.8%
- Location or branch page2.2%
- Other inner page11.7%
- Services or specialization84.6%
- Location or service area57.7%
- Clients, scale or notable projects54.8%
- Experience and track record50.6%
- Named businesses with own site cited65.5%
- Named when its site was cited96.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited16%
Construction, architecture and engineering
- Business websites carried 84.2% of citations. Government procurement sites appeared for public sector work, and Houzz for residential projects.
- 63.2% of the businesses AI named had their own site cited.
- AI described builders and engineers by where they work (44.8%) and the projects they have delivered (41.6%).
- Business websites84.2%
- Publishers, guides and large firms9.8%
- Government and education3.5%
- Directories and listing portals0.9%
- Homepage67.5%
- Product or service page14.2%
- Location or branch page2.1%
- Other inner page11.5%
- Services or specialization57.1%
- Location or service area44.8%
- Clients, scale or notable projects41.6%
- Experience and track record29.9%
- Named businesses with own site cited63.2%
- Named when its site was cited91.5%
- Named when its site wasn't cited25.2%
Real estate and property
- Property is where portals matter most, and business websites were still 76.0% of citations.
- realestate.com.au appeared in 29.1% of Australian property answers, Rightmove in 19.0% in the UK, Housing.com in 21.3% in India, and realtor.com and Zillow in 13.3% and 11.7% in the US.
- Location came up as often as services (57.5% of mentions), and location pages were 3.4% of the business pages cited.
- Business websites76%
- Publishers, guides and large firms13.4%
- Directories and listing portals7.2%
- Government and education2.1%
- Homepage66.9%
- Product or service page10.2%
- Location or branch page3.4%
- Other inner page14.7%
- Location or service area57.5%
- Services or specialization57.4%
- Clients, scale or notable projects40.5%
- Experience and track record38.9%
- Named businesses with own site cited57.7%
- Named when its site was cited92.6%
- Named when its site wasn't cited30.3%
Home services and trades
- Business websites carried 90.1% of citations. The third parties were local: Google Business Profile, BBB, Houzz and Angi in the US, hipages and Product Review in Australia.
- AI described tradespeople by service area (63.4%), price (39.8%) and experience (39.4%).
- Almost entirely local businesses: names that came up for 10 or more questions took 0.4% of mentions, and 71.4% of named businesses outside the US had a local domain.
- Business websites90.1%
- Publishers, guides and large firms3.9%
- Review and booking sites1.7%
- Government and education1.1%
- Homepage62.2%
- Product or service page17.2%
- Location or branch page4.2%
- Other inner page12.8%
- Services or specialization75.3%
- Location or service area63.4%
- Price or value39.8%
- Experience and track record39.4%
- Named businesses with own site cited61.8%
- Named when its site was cited96.6%
- Named when its site wasn't cited27.3%
Food and beverage
- Easy to win: 57.8% of businesses were named.
- Business websites carried 86.8% of citations. Grocers and retailers, plus food media such as Time Out and Bon Appetit, were the third parties.
- Business websites86.8%
- Publishers, guides and large firms7.6%
- Government and education1.9%
- Marketplaces and retailers1.9%
- Homepage58.9%
- Product or service page18.7%
- Location or branch page1.2%
- Other inner page15.9%
- Services or specialization56.4%
- Location or service area46.1%
- Speed, availability or convenience36.9%
- Price or value29.8%
- Named businesses with own site cited60.1%
- Named when its site was cited95.6%
- Named when its site wasn't cited36.8%
Health and medical
- Government sites were the main third party (6.6% of citations). In Australia the NDIS sites appeared in 19.0% of health answers. In the US, Psychology Today appeared in 4.3%.
- Credentials came up in 32.1% of mentions, more than in most industries.
- Business websites85.8%
- Government and education6.6%
- Publishers, guides and large firms5.2%
- Directories and listing portals0.9%
- Homepage55.4%
- Product or service page19.5%
- Location or branch page2.1%
- Other inner page17.9%
- Services or specialization69.6%
- Location or service area49.7%
- Speed, availability or convenience38.4%
- Clients, scale or notable projects38.3%
- Named businesses with own site cited60.3%
- Named when its site was cited96.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited28.7%
Financial services and insurance
- Business websites carried 80.9% of citations. Regulators and comparison sites were the third parties: Moneysmart (8.4% of Australian answers), Finder and Canstar in Australia, SEBI in India, the SEC adviser register in the US.
- 73.2% of named businesses outside the US had a local domain.
- Business websites80.9%
- Publishers, guides and large firms13.4%
- Government and education4.3%
- Directories and listing portals0.5%
- Homepage57.9%
- Product or service page18%
- Location or branch page2%
- Other inner page16.5%
- Services or specialization72.5%
- Clients, scale or notable projects51.5%
- Location or service area44%
- Price or value42%
- Named businesses with own site cited62.9%
- Named when its site was cited95.7%
- Named when its site wasn't cited25%
Education and training
- Business websites carried 87.0% of citations, and 64.0% of the providers AI named had their own site cited.
- AI described providers by format and availability (54.2%) and price (49.7%).
- Business websites87%
- Government and education7%
- Publishers, guides and large firms4.4%
- Google Maps and Business Profile0.6%
- Homepage53.2%
- Product or service page19.1%
- Location or branch page1.6%
- Other inner page21.3%
- Services or specialization87.7%
- Speed, availability or convenience54.2%
- Location or service area51.5%
- Price or value49.7%
- Named businesses with own site cited64%
- Named when its site was cited97.1%
- Named when its site wasn't cited23.7%
Hospitality, travel and events
- Tripadvisor, Booking.com and MakeMyTrip were the third parties. Business websites carried 87.6% of citations.
- 69.1% of named businesses had their own site cited, and 68.8% of answers to city questions cited a business page for that city.
- Business websites87.6%
- Publishers, guides and large firms6.6%
- Government and education1.9%
- Review and booking sites1.6%
- Homepage61.5%
- Product or service page11.2%
- Location or branch page2.2%
- Other inner page20.9%
- Services or specialization57.6%
- Location or service area43.1%
- Price or value33.7%
- Clients, scale or notable projects32.6%
- Named businesses with own site cited69.1%
- Named when its site was cited97.6%
- Named when its site wasn't cited35.3%
Beauty, wellness and personal care
- Beauty retailers (Ulta, Sephora, Nykaa) were the third parties. Business websites carried 85.6% of citations.
- Price came up in 51.4% of mentions.
- Business websites85.6%
- Publishers, guides and large firms8.2%
- Marketplaces and retailers3.1%
- Government and education1.5%
- Homepage55%
- Product or service page20.8%
- Location or branch page2.5%
- Other inner page17.2%
- Services or specialization70.4%
- Price or value51.4%
- Speed, availability or convenience40.5%
- Location or service area37.4%
- Named businesses with own site cited62.2%
- Named when its site was cited96.1%
- Named when its site wasn't cited30.1%
IT services and cybersecurity
- The hardest industry: 27.8% of businesses were named, and 25.1% on ChatGPT.
- Clutch appeared in 10.8% of answers. Large consultancies came back more often here than anywhere else, taking 11.1% of mentions.
- 69.2% of named businesses had their own site cited. AI described them by location (72.5%), availability (70.5%) and price (69.3%).
- Business websites84.9%
- Publishers, guides and large firms11.1%
- Directories and listing portals1.8%
- Government and education1.1%
- Homepage66.8%
- Product or service page19.2%
- Location or branch page2.8%
- Other inner page7.7%
- Services or specialization92.4%
- Location or service area72.5%
- Speed, availability or convenience70.5%
- Price or value69.3%
- Named businesses with own site cited69.2%
- Named when its site was cited94.5%
- Named when its site wasn't cited12.4%
Automotive
- The easiest industry: 60.1% of businesses were named.
- Business websites carried 86.9% of citations. carsales.com.au and the manufacturers' own sites were the third parties.
- Business websites86.9%
- Publishers, guides and large firms7.5%
- Government and education1.9%
- Directories and listing portals1.8%
- Homepage59.4%
- Product or service page14.1%
- Location or branch page3.3%
- Other inner page18%
- Services or specialization51.5%
- Location or service area40.3%
- Clients, scale or notable projects30.4%
- Speed, availability or convenience28.6%
- Named businesses with own site cited59%
- Named when its site was cited97%
- Named when its site wasn't cited37.3%
Logistics and transport
- Business websites carried 84.6% of citations. Large carriers' websites and market research publishers were the third parties.
- Business websites84.6%
- Publishers, guides and large firms11.8%
- Government and education1.7%
- Directories and listing portals0.8%
- Homepage57.2%
- Product or service page19%
- Location or branch page1.5%
- Other inner page16%
- Services or specialization61.6%
- Location or service area43.7%
- Clients, scale or notable projects42.8%
- Speed, availability or convenience40%
- Named businesses with own site cited64.7%
- Named when its site was cited93.7%
- Named when its site wasn't cited24.5%
Marketing, design and creative
- Business websites carried 93.2% of citations, the most of any industry, and 82.2% of the agencies AI named had their own site cited.
- Google Business Profile (10.3% of answers) and Clutch (4.7%) were the third parties. AI described agencies by clients and past work (60.9%).
- Business websites93.2%
- Publishers, guides and large firms3.1%
- Google Maps and Business Profile1.5%
- Directories and listing portals1.1%
- Homepage64.1%
- Product or service page15.9%
- Location or branch page2.4%
- Other inner page13.2%
- Services or specialization81.8%
- Clients, scale or notable projects60.9%
- Location or service area54.6%
- Price or value46%
- Named businesses with own site cited82.2%
- Named when its site was cited96.3%
- Named when its site wasn't cited22.9%
Energy and utilities
- Business websites carried 79.4% of citations. Comparison sites (SolarQuotes, EnergySage) and energy departments were the third parties.
- Business websites79.4%
- Publishers, guides and large firms12.3%
- Government and education6.7%
- Directories and listing portals0.6%
- Homepage56%
- Product or service page19.4%
- Location or branch page1.6%
- Other inner page17.5%
- Services or specialization58.5%
- Location or service area41.2%
- Clients, scale or notable projects36.2%
- Price or value28.1%
- Named businesses with own site cited60.9%
- Named when its site was cited97.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited25.6%
All industry tables: sources, pages and reasons
Where citations came from, by industry
| Citations | Business websites | Publishers, guides and large firms | Government and education | Directories and listing portals | Marketplaces and retailers | Google Maps and Business Profile | Review and booking sites | Social media, forums and wikis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail and consumer brands | 45,316 | 81.5% | 11.6% | 1% | 0.5% | 4.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Manufacturing and industrial supply | 45,818 | 90.4% | 4.9% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0% | 0.3% |
| Software and SaaS | 45,703 | 83.3% | 12.5% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.3% |
| Legal and professional services | 35,515 | 85.3% | 10.9% | 2.3% | 0.5% | 0% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Construction, architecture and engineering | 31,393 | 84.2% | 9.8% | 3.5% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Real estate and property | 24,144 | 76% | 13.4% | 2.1% | 7.2% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Home services and trades | 23,125 | 90.1% | 3.9% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 0.2% |
| Food and beverage | 19,483 | 86.8% | 7.6% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 1.9% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| Health and medical | 17,383 | 85.8% | 5.2% | 6.6% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Financial services and insurance | 18,818 | 80.9% | 13.4% | 4.3% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Education and training | 11,030 | 87% | 4.4% | 7% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Hospitality, travel and events | 9,567 | 87.6% | 6.6% | 1.9% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 0.3% |
| Beauty, wellness and personal care | 7,413 | 85.6% | 8.2% | 1.5% | 0.4% | 3.1% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| IT services and cybersecurity | 9,355 | 84.9% | 11.1% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Automotive | 5,369 | 86.9% | 7.5% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Logistics and transport | 5,072 | 84.6% | 11.8% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Marketing, design and creative | 4,966 | 93.2% | 3.1% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 0% | 0.3% |
| Energy and utilities | 4,080 | 79.4% | 12.3% | 6.7% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Which pages of business websites AI cited, by industry
| Business pages cited | Homepage | Product or service page | Location or branch page | Blog, news or guide | About or team page | Other inner page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail and consumer brands | 20,773 | 59.3% | 17.9% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 0.7% | 16.9% |
| Manufacturing and industrial supply | 21,657 | 58% | 20.9% | 0.8% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 15.5% |
| Software and SaaS | 36,686 | 65.7% | 13.9% | 0.3% | 5.8% | 0.4% | 12.5% |
| Legal and professional services | 25,049 | 61.9% | 19.8% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1.3% | 11.7% |
| Construction, architecture and engineering | 12,904 | 67.5% | 14.2% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 11.5% |
| Real estate and property | 12,979 | 66.9% | 10.2% | 3.4% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 14.7% |
| Home services and trades | 13,794 | 62.2% | 17.2% | 4.2% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 12.8% |
| Food and beverage | 7,651 | 58.9% | 18.7% | 1.2% | 3.3% | 1.3% | 15.9% |
| Health and medical | 10,086 | 55.4% | 19.5% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 1.2% | 17.9% |
| Financial services and insurance | 9,943 | 57.9% | 18% | 2% | 3.1% | 1.3% | 16.5% |
| Education and training | 9,109 | 53.2% | 19.1% | 1.6% | 3.2% | 1% | 21.3% |
| Hospitality, travel and events | 4,437 | 61.5% | 11.2% | 2.2% | 2.6% | 0.8% | 20.9% |
| Beauty, wellness and personal care | 3,742 | 55% | 20.8% | 2.5% | 3% | 1% | 17.2% |
| IT services and cybersecurity | 7,473 | 66.8% | 19.2% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 0.7% | 7.7% |
| Automotive | 1,986 | 59.4% | 14.1% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 1.2% | 18% |
| Logistics and transport | 2,311 | 57.2% | 19% | 1.5% | 4.5% | 0.7% | 16% |
| Marketing, design and creative | 2,993 | 64.1% | 15.9% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 13.2% |
| Energy and utilities | 1,533 | 56% | 19.4% | 1.6% | 4% | 0.8% | 17.5% |
Reasons AI gave when it named a business, by industry
| Mentions analyzed | Services or specialization | Location or service area | Clients, scale or notable projects | Price or value | Speed, availability or convenience | Experience and track record | Product range or stock | Credentials, certifications or awards | Reviews and ratings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail and consumer brands | 29,400 | 68.9% | 37% | 26.6% | 53.2% | 40.3% | 26.4% | 44.8% | 12.4% | 11.8% |
| Manufacturing and industrial supply | 33,008 | 64.1% | 44.9% | 42% | 24% | 28.7% | 29% | 25.6% | 19% | 5.8% |
| Software and SaaS | 33,022 | 88.9% | 42.4% | 58.2% | 54% | 54.3% | 41.2% | 32.2% | 23.4% | 21.8% |
| Legal and professional services | 28,068 | 84.6% | 57.7% | 54.8% | 37.8% | 34.5% | 50.6% | 16.1% | 25.8% | 22.1% |
| Construction, architecture and engineering | 26,030 | 57.1% | 44.8% | 41.6% | 25% | 24.2% | 29.9% | 10.9% | 19.1% | 10.7% |
| Real estate and property | 22,768 | 57.4% | 57.5% | 40.5% | 35.2% | 26.1% | 38.9% | 20.9% | 11.3% | 13.9% |
| Home services and trades | 18,432 | 75.3% | 63.4% | 33.7% | 39.8% | 36.3% | 39.4% | 18.7% | 22.9% | 21.2% |
| Food and beverage | 14,761 | 56.4% | 46.1% | 26.8% | 29.8% | 36.9% | 25% | 28% | 14.3% | 6.4% |
| Health and medical | 14,383 | 69.6% | 49.7% | 38.3% | 29.9% | 38.4% | 27.8% | 18.5% | 32.1% | 18.1% |
| Financial services and insurance | 13,819 | 72.5% | 44% | 51.5% | 42% | 27.6% | 39.3% | 18.8% | 22.6% | 16.1% |
| Education and training | 8,626 | 87.7% | 51.5% | 48.9% | 49.7% | 54.2% | 39.4% | 21.6% | 34% | 15.4% |
| Hospitality, travel and events | 8,320 | 57.6% | 43.1% | 32.6% | 33.7% | 27.1% | 27.3% | 19.1% | 12.7% | 8.2% |
| Beauty, wellness and personal care | 5,535 | 70.4% | 37.4% | 24% | 51.4% | 40.5% | 23.3% | 33.7% | 20.1% | 13.6% |
| IT services and cybersecurity | 7,700 | 92.4% | 72.5% | 48.8% | 69.3% | 70.5% | 57.6% | 25.9% | 20.2% | 21.4% |
| Automotive | 4,541 | 51.5% | 40.3% | 30.4% | 24.6% | 28.6% | 23% | 23.3% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Logistics and transport | 3,646 | 61.6% | 43.7% | 42.8% | 32.6% | 40% | 21.7% | 27.5% | 9.7% | 6.7% |
| Marketing, design and creative | 3,851 | 81.8% | 54.6% | 60.9% | 46% | 35.1% | 44.7% | 19.7% | 15.8% | 25.3% |
| Energy and utilities | 3,000 | 58.5% | 41.2% | 36.2% | 28.1% | 26.4% | 25.6% | 11.2% | 23% | 12.3% |
One mention can carry several reasons, so rows add up to more than 100%.
By country
10 countries. Same pattern, local sources.
The business website led in every country. What changes is the third party that sits beside it: Google Business Profile in New Zealand, property portals in Australia, the UK, India and the UAE, B2B directories in India.
| Answers | Businesses | Named on first answer | Business websites, share of citations | Named businesses with own site cited | Service pages, share of business pages | City questions citing a page for that city | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 28,933 | 14,916 | 47.2% | 87.5% | 61.3% | 17% | 48.9% |
| Australia | 17,853 | 8,533 | 53.8% | 82.8% | 67.3% | 18.9% | 54.6% |
| India | 9,538 | 8,418 | 37.1% | 77.1% | 52.5% | 12% | 51.2% |
| United Kingdom | 6,344 | 3,187 | 47.9% | 84.7% | 66.1% | 17.4% | 69.5% |
| Canada | 2,127 | 1,192 | 54.6% | 91% | 64.6% | 15.5% | 52.6% |
| Ireland | 1,599 | 901 | 63.3% | 96.4% | 70.1% | 18.5% | 55.5% |
| New Zealand | 1,592 | 853 | 64.7% | 85.3% | 60.9% | 17.2% | n/a |
| Singapore | 1,098 | 619 | 47.4% | 83.9% | 64.5% | 15.2% | 53.8% |
| United Arab Emirates | 966 | 485 | 45.6% | 83.8% | 67.2% | 16.3% | 57.6% |
| Netherlands | 331 | 181 | 46.5% | 89.6% | n/a | 0% | n/a |
n/a: fewer than 100 answers to city questions, or too few named businesses, to report.
United States
- Business websites carried 87.5% of citations. When AI named a business, it cited that business's own site 64.0% of the time.
- The third parties changed by industry: Target and Walmart in retail, realtor.com and Zillow in property, Thomasnet in industrial supply, BBB, Angi and Houzz in the trades.
- Business websites87.5%
- Publishers, guides and large firms7.7%
- Government and education1.3%
- Marketplaces and retailers1.2%
- Homepage61.6%
- Product or service page17%
- Location or branch page1.6%
- Other inner page14.6%
- Services or specialization90.9%
- Location or service area60.6%
- Price or value55.7%
- Clients, scale or notable projects54.4%
- Named businesses with own site cited61.3%
- Named when its site was cited97.4%
- Named when its site wasn't cited20.3%
Australia
- 53.8% of businesses were named, and 59.4% at least once.
- 67.3% of named businesses had their own site cited, and 77.9% of named businesses used a .au domain.
- realestate.com.au in property, government sites (NDIS, ACCC, Moneysmart) in health, consumer and finance questions, and Product Review were the third parties.
- Business websites82.8%
- Publishers, guides and large firms9.6%
- Government and education4.5%
- Directories and listing portals1.3%
- Homepage58.8%
- Product or service page18.9%
- Location or branch page3%
- Other inner page14.9%
- Services or specialization56.7%
- Location or service area40%
- Clients, scale or notable projects33.5%
- Experience and track record25.9%
- Named businesses with own site cited67.3%
- Named when its site was cited96.7%
- Named when its site wasn't cited32.7%
India
- The hardest large market: 37.1% of businesses were named.
- Business websites carried 77.1% of citations. B2B directories mattered more than in most countries: TradeIndia appeared in 4.4% of all Indian answers. Housing.com and Magicbricks in property, SEBI and the business press in finance.
- 25.4% of named businesses used a .in domain. Most used .com.
- Business websites77.1%
- Publishers, guides and large firms14.1%
- Government and education3.7%
- Directories and listing portals2.8%
- Homepage65.7%
- Product or service page12%
- Location or branch page1.4%
- Other inner page13%
- Services or specialization40%
- Location or service area29.3%
- Clients, scale or notable projects25.6%
- Price or value20.9%
- Named businesses with own site cited52.5%
- Named when its site was cited94.7%
- Named when its site wasn't cited24.5%
United Kingdom
- 69.5% of answers to city questions cited a business page for that city, the most of any country.
- gov.uk for public sector work, Rightmove and Zoopla in property, Yell and Checkatrade in the trades.
- Business websites84.7%
- Publishers, guides and large firms10.7%
- Government and education1.9%
- Directories and listing portals1%
- Homepage61%
- Product or service page17.4%
- Location or branch page2.1%
- Other inner page15.3%
- Services or specialization63%
- Location or service area41.2%
- Clients, scale or notable projects34.1%
- Price or value34.1%
- Named businesses with own site cited66.1%
- Named when its site was cited94.8%
- Named when its site wasn't cited27.1%
Canada
- Business websites carried 91.0% of citations, and 64.6% of named businesses had their own site cited.
- Business websites91%
- Publishers, guides and large firms6%
- Google Maps and Business Profile1%
- Directories and listing portals0.7%
- Homepage64.9%
- Product or service page15.5%
- Location or branch page2.3%
- Other inner page12.6%
- Services or specialization85%
- Location or service area67.5%
- Price or value51.4%
- Speed, availability or convenience48.3%
- Named businesses with own site cited64.6%
- Named when its site was cited97.5%
- Named when its site wasn't cited25.7%
Ireland
- 63.3% of businesses were named, and business websites carried 96.4% of citations, the most of any country.
- Google Business Profile appeared in 7.1% of answers.
- Business websites96.4%
- Publishers, guides and large firms1.6%
- Google Maps and Business Profile1%
- Government and education0.3%
- Homepage59.8%
- Product or service page18.5%
- Location or branch page1.7%
- Other inner page16.3%
- Services or specialization92.3%
- Location or service area71.7%
- Clients, scale or notable projects52.6%
- Experience and track record52.4%
- Named businesses with own site cited70.1%
- Named when its site was cited95%
- Named when its site wasn't cited44.3%
New Zealand
- The most businesses named: 64.7%.
- Google Business Profile matters here more than anywhere else: it appeared in 22.5% of answers. Business websites still carried 85.3% of citations.
- 77.9% of named businesses used a .nz domain.
- Business websites85.3%
- Publishers, guides and large firms5.3%
- Government and education4.3%
- Google Maps and Business Profile3.4%
- Homepage60.5%
- Product or service page17.2%
- Location or branch page0.9%
- Other inner page16.3%
- Services or specialization53%
- Location or service area39.2%
- Clients, scale or notable projects29.6%
- Experience and track record22%
- Named businesses with own site cited60.9%
- Named when its site was cited94.7%
- Named when its site wasn't cited47.3%
Singapore
- Government registers (MAS, BCA, CEA) and legal rankings (Chambers, Legal 500) were the third parties.
- Business websites83.9%
- Publishers, guides and large firms8.2%
- Government and education6.2%
- Directories and listing portals0.6%
- Homepage62.4%
- Product or service page15.2%
- Location or branch page2.9%
- Other inner page14%
- Services or specialization56.2%
- Clients, scale or notable projects34.6%
- Location or service area31.9%
- Experience and track record26%
- Named businesses with own site cited64.5%
- Named when its site was cited93.2%
- Named when its site wasn't cited31.7%
United Arab Emirates
- Property portals (Property Finder in 7.1% of answers, Bayut in 6.3%) and the Dubai Land Department were the third parties.
- Business websites83.8%
- Publishers, guides and large firms10.5%
- Directories and listing portals2.8%
- Government and education1.8%
- Homepage61.7%
- Product or service page16.3%
- Location or branch page2.1%
- Other inner page12.4%
- Services or specialization54.7%
- Location or service area40.2%
- Clients, scale or notable projects39.2%
- Experience and track record35.1%
- Named businesses with own site cited67.2%
- Named when its site was cited96.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited28.5%
Netherlands
- A small sample, mostly retail. Marketplaces (bol.com, Zalando) were the third parties.
- Business websites89.6%
- Publishers, guides and large firms7.8%
- Marketplaces and retailers1.4%
- Social media, forums and wikis0.8%
- Homepage0%
- Product or service page0%
- Location or branch page0%
- Other inner page0%
- Services or specialization34.9%
- Price or value15.1%
- Product range or stock12.8%
- Location or service area11.7%
- Named businesses with own site citedn/a
- Named when its site was cited62.9%
- Named when its site wasn't cited29.3%
All country tables: sources, pages and reasons
Where citations came from, by country
| Citations | Business websites | Publishers, guides and large firms | Government and education | Directories and listing portals | Marketplaces and retailers | Google Maps and Business Profile | Review and booking sites | Social media, forums and wikis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 163,625 | 87.5% | 7.7% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Australia | 85,261 | 82.8% | 9.6% | 4.5% | 1.3% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| India | 48,096 | 77.1% | 14.1% | 3.7% | 2.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| United Kingdom | 35,829 | 84.7% | 10.7% | 1.9% | 1% | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Canada | 12,069 | 91% | 6% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Ireland | 6,994 | 96.4% | 1.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| New Zealand | 7,762 | 85.3% | 5.3% | 4.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Singapore | 5,754 | 83.9% | 8.2% | 6.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| United Arab Emirates | 4,896 | 83.8% | 10.5% | 1.8% | 2.8% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0% | 0.1% |
| Netherlands | 1,517 | 89.6% | 7.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1.4% | 0% | 0.2% | 0.8% |
Which pages of business websites AI cited, by country
| Business pages cited | Homepage | Product or service page | Location or branch page | Blog, news or guide | About or team page | Other inner page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 140,430 | 61.6% | 17% | 1.6% | 3.3% | 1.1% | 14.6% |
| Australia | 27,523 | 58.8% | 18.9% | 3% | 2% | 1.4% | 14.9% |
| India | 9,753 | 65.7% | 12% | 1.4% | 5.3% | 1.2% | 13% |
| United Kingdom | 15,409 | 61% | 17.4% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 0.9% | 15.3% |
| Canada | 8,431 | 64.9% | 15.5% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 1.4% | 12.6% |
| Ireland | 6,652 | 59.8% | 18.5% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 16.3% |
| New Zealand | 749 | 60.5% | 17.2% | 0.9% | 3.9% | 0.5% | 16.3% |
| Singapore | 2,131 | 62.4% | 15.2% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 0.9% | 14% |
| United Arab Emirates | 2,486 | 61.7% | 16.3% | 2.1% | 5.5% | 1% | 12.4% |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reasons AI gave when it named a business, by country
| Mentions analyzed | Services or specialization | Location or service area | Clients, scale or notable projects | Price or value | Speed, availability or convenience | Experience and track record | Product range or stock | Credentials, certifications or awards | Reviews and ratings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 125,864 | 90.9% | 60.6% | 54.4% | 55.7% | 51.6% | 45.5% | 31.8% | 26.9% | 20.4% |
| Australia | 69,166 | 56.7% | 40% | 33.5% | 23% | 23.8% | 25.9% | 15% | 15.7% | 11.7% |
| India | 33,236 | 40% | 29.3% | 25.6% | 20.9% | 18.5% | 20.5% | 13.5% | 9.7% | 7.1% |
| United Kingdom | 26,542 | 63% | 41.2% | 34.1% | 34.1% | 31% | 30.6% | 26.3% | 14.3% | 8.6% |
| Canada | 8,843 | 85% | 67.5% | 47.1% | 51.4% | 48.3% | 47.3% | 36.3% | 19.8% | 19.9% |
| Ireland | 6,407 | 92.3% | 71.7% | 52.6% | 45.9% | 49.2% | 52.4% | 30% | 30.4% | 12.6% |
| New Zealand | 5,771 | 53% | 39.2% | 29.6% | 15.1% | 15.1% | 22% | 14.4% | 14.7% | 8.4% |
| Singapore | 5,378 | 56.2% | 31.9% | 34.6% | 25.6% | 23.1% | 26% | 20.1% | 16.4% | 7.1% |
| United Arab Emirates | 4,895 | 54.7% | 40.2% | 39.2% | 28.4% | 30.8% | 35.1% | 23.2% | 20.4% | 8.5% |
| Netherlands | 674 | 34.9% | 11.7% | 3.9% | 15.1% | 8.3% | 7.6% | 12.8% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
One mention can carry several reasons, so rows add up to more than 100%.
Six assistants
The same 510 questions on six AI assistants.
On 24 October 2026 we asked 510 general buyer questions, across 15 industries and five intents, on six assistants in the US: 3,052 answers. Individual websites were the largest source on all six.
| Individual websites, share of cited domains | Largest platform share | Service, location and guide pages, share of business pages | Answers naming no business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 80.6% | Directories 2.9% | 44.9% | 0.6% |
| Claude | 74.6% | Review sites 5.6% | 56.4% | 0% |
| Perplexity | 72.2% | Review sites 5.5%, directories 4.8% | 53.8% | 11% |
| Google AI Overviews | 66.7% | Review sites 4.5%, Reddit 4.0% | 43.8% | 26.2% |
| ChatGPT | 66.1% | Government 5.4% | 15.4% | 0.2% |
| Google AI Mode | 54.7% | Google Business Profile 11.9% | 13.1% | 22.6% |
Reddit never passed 4% of cited domains on any assistant. Trust questions pulled in review sites (12.3% of citations). Cost questions pulled in pricing pages (6.3% of business pages, against 0.1% for shortlist questions).
What this means for a business.
Treat your website as the source AI reads
85% of what AI cited was business websites. Directories, forums and social media together were a few percent.
Give every service its own page
When AI cited a business's service or product page, that business came first 63.1% of the time, against 46.9% when only its homepage was cited.
Publish a page for each place you serve
When the cited page named the buyer's city, the business came first 71.0% of the time, against 53.3% when it didn't.
State the facts AI repeats
What you do and for whom, where you work, clients and projects, prices, how long you have been operating and your credentials: these are the reasons AI gave for the businesses it named.
Keep third-party profiles accurate where they matter
Property portals in real estate, Google Business Profile in New Zealand and the local trades, regulators in health and finance, B2B directories in Indian manufacturing.
Method
How we ran the study. Every count, every rule.
The businesses
40,147 business websites in 10 countries, mostly small and mid-sized businesses drawn from commercial business databases. Each business was tested on its own buyer's question.
The questions
For each business, we read its website and wrote the question its buyer would ask an AI assistant, in the buyer's words, usually naming the city or country they buy in: 58,265 distinct questions, 60% of which name a place (189 cities and regions).
The assistants
ChatGPT with web search on (61,825 answers, collected through Bright Data and DataForSEO) and Gemini with web search on (10,886 answers, Flash-Lite model where recorded). On 24 October 2026, 510 general questions on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
When
19 August to 25 October 2026. Answers from 18 to 25 October carry an exact timestamp (40,548 answers); earlier answers are dated by their test batch.
How often each question was asked
61,404 answers were the first time a question was asked on an assistant, 5,300 were re-checks, and 6,008 were natural rewordings, asked only for businesses that weren't named the first time. Rates for "named" use first answers only.
What we recorded
Whether the business was named and its position; the other businesses named, extracted from the answer text; every source cited (domains for 92.6% of answers, and full web addresses with page titles for 34,857 answers, 241,150 addresses); and the answer text.
Source types
Each cited domain counts once per answer. Domains were sorted into: the business asked about; a business named in the answer (matched by its website); directories, review and booking sites, marketplaces, Google Maps and Business Profile, social media and forums, and government and education, each by fixed domain lists; publishers, guides and large firms (sites cited for 10 or more different businesses); and everything else, other business websites.
Page types
Each cited business page was sorted by its web address into homepage, product or service, location, blog or guide, about, case studies, contact, pricing, document, or other inner page. A page names the city when the city from the question appears in its address or title.
Reasons
For each named business, we took the line of the answer that names it and checked it against nine families of reason words: services, location, clients and projects, price, experience, availability, range, credentials and reviews.
Industry and country
Industry was assigned from the words of the buyer question, or the business's sector where the question didn't settle it; 4,020 answers fit no industry and are left out of industry tables. Country was recorded at collection for 61,649 answers and assigned from the place in the question or the website's domain for 8,732; 2,331 stay unassigned.
Limits
Each answer is one assistant, one question, one day, and answers change between runs. The questions are what each business's own buyer would ask, not a random sample of everything people ask AI, and the businesses come from business databases, not a random sample of all businesses. Names, reasons and page types were extracted automatically. Website matching for named businesses is available on ChatGPT answers from 18 to 25 October. Every figure is a correlation; none proves cause.
Get the data
Download the tables. Aggregates only.
Every table on this page as a spreadsheet. No business is named in any file.
- by-industry.csv18 industries: sources, pages, reasons and rates
- by-country.csv10 countries: sources, pages, reasons and rates
- by-industry-and-country.csvEvery industry and country with 400 or more answers
Strategi.is (2026). Your website is the anchor: how AI chooses which businesses to recommend. 72,712 AI answers, 19 August to 25 October 2026. strategi.is/research/ai-recommendations-2026
Questions about the research.
Where does this data come from?
From 72,712 answers we collected from AI assistants between 19 August and 25 October 2026. For each of 40,147 businesses in 10 countries, we wrote the question its own buyer would ask, asked it with web search on, and recorded every business named and every source cited.
Which AI assistants did you test?
ChatGPT (61,825 answers) and Gemini (10,886 answers), both with web search on. On 24 October 2026 we also asked 510 general buyer questions on six assistants: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
Does having my website cited make AI recommend me?
The two go together almost every time: when AI cited a business's own website, it named that business in 95.4% of answers, against 26.3% when it didn't. One answer can't separate cause and effect, so we report it as a correlation.
Which pages of my website does AI cite?
Mostly homepages (61.5% of business pages cited), then product and service pages (17.0%) and other inner pages (14.6%). The businesses that came first were more often the ones whose service pages, or pages naming the buyer's city, were cited.
Do directories, review sites and Reddit still matter?
Less than most advice suggests: directories were 1.2% of citations, review and booking sites 0.4%, and social media, forums and wikis together 0.3%. They matter more in a few places: property portals, Google Business Profile in New Zealand and the trades, and regulators in health and finance.
How can I see what AI says about my business?
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