What two studies found
| DerivateX (June 2026) | Growfusely (July 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | 40 categories, 188 cited sources, ChatGPT with search | 128 questions, 1,739 citations, ChatGPT and Perplexity |
| Vendor pages | 51.1% | 24% on ChatGPT, 12% on Perplexity |
| Independent content | 22.9% plus 14.9% media | Together with vendor pages, nearly 79% |
| Review sites | 1.1% | 7.3% |
| Community | 9.6% | Reddit cited only by Perplexity |
Both studies are small, and both publishers sell AI-visibility services. The direction still holds across them.
Find your sources
- List 20 questions your buyers ask.
- Ask them in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Copilot.
- Record every cited page and how often it appears.
- Rank pages by how many answers they shape.
Get into them
- Comparison articles: send the author accurate data, a clear positioning line and a customer quote.
- Industry publications: offer expert commentary or original numbers.
- Directories and lists: submit a complete, consistent profile.
- Out-of-date pages: ask for corrections to old pricing or features.
One page can shape several answers, so a single update can move a lot.
An outreach email that works
Subject: Updated details for your [category] comparison
Hi [Name], your comparison of [category] tools is one of the pages AI assistants cite most for this topic. Our pricing and integrations changed in [month]. Here are the current details with sources, plus a short quote from a customer if useful. Happy to answer any questions.
Keep it short, factual and useful to the author.
Questions
Should we pay to be included in lists?
Paid placements should be labelled as such. Unlabelled paid inclusion risks trust and may break the publisher's own rules.
How many sources should we target?
Start with the ten pages that shape the most answers for your top questions.
How long until a source change affects AI answers?
Pages are recrawled on their own schedules. Expect weeks, not days.
Start here: AI visibility for B2B. More articles in AI visibility.