Throughout 60,000+ web sites we observe day by day analytics for, ChatGPT sends 8-9x the referral site visitors of the following main AI-first platform, Perplexity.
Simply final month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that greater than 800 million individuals use the platform every week.
However what does it take to get talked about and cited in its responses?
Our newest analysis into top-of-the-funnel queries reveals that lately up to date “finest X” lists have been probably the most distinguished web page sort in ChatGPT sources, together with these the place really useful manufacturers ranked themselves in first place.
There was additionally a correlation between a model positioning extremely in third-party lists and being extra more likely to characteristic in responses.
Does that conclusively imply you have to be publishing these lists your self? Earlier than I share the method we’re taking, let’s take a look at the information in full.
I analyzed ChatGPT responses throughout 750 top-of-the-funnel prompts in three classes: software program, merchandise, and company suggestions (e.g., ‘the most effective net design businesses in London’).
Whereas that quantity won’t sound like a lot, it took dozens of hours to manually categorize responses to make sure accuracy.
What I used to be on the lookout for: How usually “finest” lists present up as citations
For software program, I used to be like “finest crm software program for enterprise” and “finest venture administration software program”.
For merchandise, I analysed prompts round queries corresponding to “finest entry-level DSLR” and “finest residence treadmill”.
Within the company class, I checked out phrases associated to businesses providing providers overlaying website positioning, social media, promoting, branding, common advertising and marketing, and net design.
In conventional website positioning, these phrases are estimated to be looked for lots of of 1000’s of occasions per month.
That mentioned, it’s doubtless that the phrases individuals enter into Google won’t be the right illustration of what’s entered in a chat platform. Sadly, AI platforms don’t present that information straight.
I’ve examined each easy and descriptive prompts in these industries and located little to no extra “drift” in comparison with monitoring the identical prompts. I’ve lined this extra in our supplemental doc under, and plan to share extra analysis there within the close to future.
It’s additionally doubtless {that a} notable proportion of suggestions are given as the results of a multi-query dialog, relatively than a single immediate.
Because of this, I haven’t seemed into probably the most really useful manufacturers or the top-cited domains total, however relatively into the varieties of content material sourced from these websites.
One other intention with this examine is to set a benchmark for what we’re seeing throughout the board, which we are able to evaluate towards and enhance upon over time.
Sidenote.
For extra particular particulars about this analysis and its methodology, I’ve created a supplemental Google Doc that shares classes realized and concepts for future analysis based mostly on my findings.
The desk under covers the most typical web page sorts we noticed throughout all three classes.
It contains each first-party mentions—when a really useful model or product’s personal web site is cited—and third-party mentions.
Nearly all of web page sorts we analysed ought to be self-explanatory, however for these which might be probably the most distinguished, right here’s some extra clarification:
- Weblog checklist: An inventory of suggestions in a weblog put up format, corresponding to this put up on “The 8 Finest AI Detectors, Examined and In contrast” by our personal Ryan Regulation
- Non-Weblog Listing: Platforms like G2 (software program) or Clutch (company), which rank suggestions however not in a weblog put up fashion format
- Touchdown web page: Normal pages like a selected service an company affords, or a market a SaaS firm has an answer e.g., this web page on Siege Media displaying they provide net design providers
- Social media: This covers websites like Reddit, Fb, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Hyperlinks could seem inline with suggestions, or as supply hyperlinks, which have been used for analysis however require a further click on to view.
Every first-party point out was manually categorized.
For third-party mentions, totaling 10,000+ particular person URLs, we used a semi-automated method.
We arrange dozens of handbook filters to enhance accuracy. For instance, the study.g2.com subdomain hosts content material sorts very completely different from commonplace G2 class pages.
For the remaining URLs, we categorized them with OpenAI’s GPT-5 mannequin with customized directions.
Lastly, we frolicked going over every group of URLs and improved tagging the place essential, although we have been proud of 95% of what we initially noticed.
In some classes there’s a transparent shift by which web page sort featured prominently. Touchdown pages are generally cited when on the lookout for the most effective software program or company, however not often present up when researching merchandise.
Normal weblog posts on product web sites carried out much better than within the software program and company suggestions area.
For every of the classes in query, we took 250 “finest” weblog lists from ChatGPT’s responses (750 in whole) to find out the place a selected model was featured when that checklist was sourced alongside it.
This was all completed by hand, as automation wouldn’t be as correct. For instance, many lists declare they’ve a sure variety of objects, once they usually have extra and easily haven’t up to date their title or headline.
Automation to find out the place a model featured in an inventory could be much more advanced. Particularly as they’re not at all times offered in a clear checklist of numbered headings.
Within the instance under, you may see that Asana options as the highest spot in their very own checklist of the most effective venture administration software program:
In an analogous article on Zapier’s web site, Asana is proven because the second advice:
Each pages have been used as a supply in a ChatGPT response.
Taking all 750 lists into consideration, right here’s the distribution of the place a talked about product, model, or service supplier was featured in an related “finest” checklist.
Whereas there’s a transparent suggestion that being positioned extremely will increase suggestions, there’s additionally some bias right here.
Not each checklist has 10 or extra objects, so there’ll at all times be extra suggestions at larger checklist positions.
To assist remedy this, we are able to take a look at checklist distribution and what number of suggestions fall into the highest, center, or backside third of an inventory, no matter its dimension.
As we are able to see from the general distribution, there’s nonetheless a robust pattern in direction of firms and merchandise that ranked larger within the related checklist.
I needed to do one higher than that and likewise share a chart centered on a separate set of lists with 10 or extra objects. There we see a much less distinguished outcome, but it surely’s trending in the identical route:
Another elements is likely to be in play right here, as lined within the aforementioned supplemental doc.
One conclusion we would shortly soar to is that LLMs choose earlier sections of the information given to them, and thus they’re “prioritizing” a number of the prime suggestions.
I spoke briefly with Dan Petrovic from DEJAN website positioning, who has completed in depth analysis on this area, and steered which may not be the case. A few of his evaluation reveals that roughly content material could be extracted relying on the area or web page being sourced.
We’re nonetheless finding out this, so I hesitate to present a definitive conclusion, however even when AI weren’t a factor, you’d logically need to characteristic larger on an inventory of really useful software program, merchandise or service suppliers in your trade.
I took an equal pattern of weblog lists from our three classes and checked to see once they have been printed or final up to date. After filtering out these with out clear publish or modified dates, I used to be left with a clear checklist of 1,100 URLs to investigate.
79.1% have been final up to date in 2025, and 26% have been final up to date up to now two months alone.
This accounts for those who have been both printed for the primary time or later modified within the respective timeframe.
Apparently, extra articles had been up to date since publication (57.1%) than these printed and left as is.
Retaining articles updated could assist them carry out higher in conventional search, however our information reveals AI assistants want even more energizing content material.
Spend a while reviewing the sources ChatGPT makes use of and it’s clear they don’t seem to be at all times probably the most respectable web sites.
Many lack any human presence and look virtually completely like they have been constructed for hyperlink constructing and / or quotation functions.
Whereas the bar for high quality ought to be larger in the event that they’re utilizing Google and Bing as their reference sources, our personal Louise Linehan discovered that 28% of ChatGPT’s most-cited pages have zero natural visibility.
My very own analysis discovered that many questionable websites carry out nicely in Bing however not as nicely in Google.
Whereas Ahrefs Area Ranking isn’t an ideal indicator of website high quality, if I take 1,000 cited finest lists throughout every class (3,000 in whole), I discovered that a good portion have been printed on domains with low authority.
In easy phrases, they’ve fewer high-quality websites linking to their personal.
As Glenn Gabe lined in his wonderful article, Google’s personal AI solutions ought to have fewer points selling respectable websites, however different AI search platforms will doubtless must develop stronger belief and high quality scoring going ahead.
I anticipate we’ll see the left aspect of this chart decline over time.
Whereas the vast majority of this examine was centered on ChatGPT, the prominence of those comparability articles isn’t unique to OpenAI’s platform
In actual fact, they have been barely extra distinguished in Google’s AI Overviews:
It’s not simply top-of-the-funnel queries the place they present up both.
Trying on the prime 1,000 most-cited pages throughout every platform by way of Ahrefs Model Radar, all included comparability listicles. And that’s throughout 150M+ whole prompts.
The way in which ChatGPT recommends businesses and merchandise differs from the way it at the moment recommends software program.
Once you’re on the lookout for an company, you may usually click on straight on that company’s identify to come out a sidebar and study extra about it.
Sadly, for the needs of analyzing completely different classes, this isn’t at all times the case.
As you may see under, there was no direct web site hyperlink within the sidebar for Charle, however there was a hyperlink to their web site within the textual content under their identify.
Sidenote.
In ChatGPT 5.1 these sidebars appear to now not seem for businesses, so it’s lucky that we didn’t deal with mentions in them.
On account of this inconsistency, for agency-focused prompts we determined to deal with the hyperlink related to a model, relatively than the hyperlink that will seem of their sidebar.
This shouldn’t have any influence on stats for issues like Weblog Lists or Non-Weblog Lists, however it might have technically allowed us to search out way more first-party homepages in our evaluation.
Whereas weblog lists have been extremely distinguished throughout all sources, when a model’s personal web site was listed as the primary advice, an inside touchdown web page was extra more likely to seem than its homepage or finest weblog checklist.
The desk under reveals the share of prompts that first-party mentions confirmed up in, by web page sort.
| Software program | Company | Merchandise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Touchdown Pages | 37.2% | 30.4% | 0.4% |
| Weblog Listing | 34% | 17.2% | 4% |
| Homepage | 15.6% | 14% | |
| Documentation (incl .PDF) | 7.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Weblog Submit | 4.8% | 0.4% | 12.4% |
| Product Web page | 0.4% | 87.2% |
Sidenote.
We aren’t anticipating columns so as to add as much as 100%, since a number of web page sorts can seem in a single response.
A simple clarification for touchdown pages outperforming weblog lists within the software program and company classes is that firms are way more more likely to have created touchdown pages overlaying the providers and options they provide, than to have made a self-serving weblog checklist.
Although they weren’t probably the most distinguished first-party web page sort, a self-promotional weblog checklist nonetheless confirmed up in additional than a 3rd of ChatGPT responses within the software program class when its writer was really useful.
I discovered they have been much more distinguished in Google SERPs,
Throughout 250 “finest X software program”-style SERPs, 169 (67.6%) featured an inventory by which the corporate writing the article ranks itself primary.
Carry out any sort of “finest [seo / web design / branding] company” search in Google and there’s a robust probability you’ll see a self-promotional checklist rating nicely.
Within the merchandise class, it was uncommon for an organization’s personal weblog checklist to seem, just because a lot of product firms don’t publish them.
You received’t see a web page on Nike.com recommending Reebok, however they’ll publish an article on “The Finest Winter Sneakers” and promote Nike’s personal sneakers all through.
There isn’t something new about creating pages to cowl the markets you serve and the options you provide, however you would possibly need to be sure these pages are precious and as much as date.
All the information factors to a transparent reply: Businesses and SaaS firms ought to publish self-promotional “finest” lists.
Numerous standard manufacturers like Shopify, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Superside have written them, and there seems to be no draw back from a standard rating or AI quotation perspective.
There’s additionally an argument for being pleased with what you create, and for serving to guests navigate extremely saturated markets.
That mentioned, information is just one a part of the equation.
Throughout my very own analysis, I’ve usually been annoyed by the lists I come throughout. Many are overly self-promotional, or just don’t hyperlink out to the alternate options they advocate.
Whereas his feedback have been geared toward creating unhealthy consumer experiences generally, relatively than concentrating on self-serving weblog lists, Mark Williams-Prepare dinner made an excellent level on LinkedIn that poor consumer alerts would possibly meet up with you sooner or later.
Siege Media founder Ross Hudgens agrees these alerts are vital, however argues you may place your individual model first and nonetheless present worth.
Company proprietor Wil Reynolds, whom I’ve revered for years, had one other opinion:
Any marketer price a rattling is aware of itemizing your self on the prime of an inventory hosted in your website doesn’t construct belief with consumers.
It wasn’t a standard prevalence, however I did discover examples of firms that includes decrease down their very own lists.
DoorLoop positioned itself seventh on this checklist of rental administration software program suppliers
Whereas it’s admirable as somebody with no connection to the enterprise, there’s additionally the argument that they’re simply serving to rivals with their very own advertising and marketing.
You’ll should determine which method is sensible for your corporation, however let me at the least share our present take.
At Ahrefs, our pondering is easy: We could publish extra comparability posts as we roll out new options or enter new markets, however they’ll proceed to make up lower than half a p.c of our whole weblog content material.
We’re not going to create them for each instrument or potential use case.
We received’t at all times put ourselves within the prime spot, as is already the case.
We’ll proceed to make it clear that we are the Ahrefs being really useful.
(Virtually each firm selling itself does so within the third individual, as in the event that they’re subtly attempting to miss that they’re writing about their very own enterprise.)
And we’ll preserve linking on to different options so guests can analysis them on their personal.
One change we are making because of this analysis is to rejoice extra of our wins.
There have been many circumstances the place manufacturers have been talked about alongside constructive firm updates, as proven under for Monday.com.
In one other case, when gymnasium administration software program Kilo was talked about, it was alongside their announcement of incomes an award from Capterra.
We might do a significantly better job there, with the potential added good thing about giving LLMs engaging commentary to make use of with any mentions.
Our major focus will proceed to be on issues which have naturally gotten us talked about on the lists of others, like always updating our product with new options, sharing unique information and analysis, and being energetic the place our viewers is.
Mentions from manufacturers like Zapier are at all times good to see
As we’ve completed after we spent $400,000 working an occasion, $1M+ sponsoring creators, or revealing how we determine the enterprise potential of recent weblog posts, we’ll preserve you within the loop about how our method to AI search visibility evolves.
Keep tuned for some behind-the-scenes updates I’m engaged on there.
When you have any ideas on how I might enhance the following iteration of this examine or the rest you prefer to me to dive into, please let me know over on LinkedIn or X.
