Which Websites Do AI Search Engines Actually Cite? [New Research]

A 30-million-source study shows Reddit, not Wikipedia, owns AI search citations — and what that means for your content strategy

Peec.ai analyzed over 30 million citations across five major AI search engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Meta AI. The dataset spans roughly 300,000 search queries. The results overturn assumptions most content teams are operating on right now.

Let’s dive in.

Beyond SEO: Optimizing for AI Search Citations in 2026

Reddit is the #1 domain in AI search citations

Not Wikipedia. Not the New York Times. Reddit.

Across the 30 million source aggregate, Reddit.com ranks first. The full top 10:

1. Reddit

2. YouTube

3. LinkedIn

4. Wikipedia

5. Forbes

6. G2

7. Yelp

8. Facebook

9. Medium

10. Techradar

That list should change how brand content teams think about where to invest. G2 and Techradar both appear in the top 10, with G2 as a critical visibility lever for B2B queries, Techradar for technical ones. Neither site typically sits at the center of a traditional content distribution plan.

Each AI engine picks favorites

The five engines do not cite the same sources at the same rates.

• ChatGPT still keeps Wikipedia at #1. It is the only engine where Wikipedia holds the top spot. Reddit and Forbes also rank as top-tier sources, appearing at rates far above niche industry blogs.

• Gemini favors Google’s own ecosystem, but with a twist. Reddit is actually the #1 source for Gemini, followed by YouTube and Wikipedia. Notably, Google AI Overviews cite YouTube at a 21.5% rate, which means roughly one in five cited sources in AI Overviews points to a video.

• Perplexity cites the widest range of sources. It pulls from niche sites and specialized publications more than any other engine. For those building topical authority on a focused domain, Perplexity offers the best shot at visibility.

• Copilot and Meta AI round out the five, with citation patterns favoring established platforms and mainstream media. Copilot has a strong secondary preference for GitHub and Microsoft-owned documentation, while Meta AI has the lowest overall citation rate, often synthesizing answers without an explicit link.

Why Reddit beats traditional publishers

AI models value discussion threads and first-person expertise. A Reddit thread where three engineers argue about database migration tradeoffs carries more signal for an AI than a 2,000-word blog post restating documentation.

Reddit’s dominance tells us something specific: AI search rewards authentic practitioner voices over polished editorial content. LinkedIn’s #3 ranking reinforces this. Professional commentary tied to real identities gives AI models a quality signal that anonymous corporate blogs cannot match.

Linkedin is now a top source for AI search citations

What this means for content teams

• Your blog is one channel; the platforms are another. Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, G2, and Medium all rank in the top 10. Special note to PR teams: publishing on your .com alone limits your citation surface area to a single domain competing against platforms with massive authority advantages.

• G2 is an underused citation lever. With G2 ranking #6, your profile and reviews feed directly into AI-generated answers. Treating G2 as a passive review site misses the point; AI engines actively treat it as a primary source.

• YouTube earns citations at scale. The 21.5% citation rate in Google AI Overviews makes video a direct input to AI search results. If your strategy is text-only, you are invisible to a significant share of generated answers.

• Depth and specificity over keyword coverage. The cited domains share a pattern: they go deep. Reddit goes deep on lived experience; G2 goes deep on product comparisons. Shallow “overview” posts will be skipped in favor of sources with more substance.

The concentration problem

A small number of domains capture a disproportionate share of AI citations. The top 10 domains account for an outsized chunk of all visibility.

This creates a specific challenge for brands: breaking into the citation set requires content that gives AI engines something they cannot get from Reddit, YouTube, or G2. Original research, proprietary data, and practitioner case studies – content that doesn’t exist elsewhere – is the only kind of content worth producing for AI search visibility.

AI search engines reach for established authority at a rate that makes Google’s E-E-A-T preferences look generous. The bar is higher now than traditional SEO ever set. Companies that adjust first will own the next generation of organic visibility.

Note for Operyn Insiders: We treat AI visibility as a diagnostic problem. If you aren’t appearing in these citations, you need to know if it’s an omission or a sentiment issue.