Throughout 60,000+ web sites we monitor each day analytics for, ChatGPT sends 8-9x the referral site visitors of the subsequent main AI-first platform, Perplexity.
Simply final month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that greater than 800 million folks 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 exhibits that lately up to date “greatest X” lists have been essentially the most distinguished web page kind in ChatGPT sources, together with these the place beneficial manufacturers ranked themselves in first place.
There was additionally a correlation between a model positioning extremely in third-party lists and being extra prone to function in responses.
Does that conclusively imply try 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., ‘one of the best internet design companies 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 typically “greatest” lists present up as citations
For software program, I used to be taking a look at phrases like “greatest crm software program for enterprise” and “greatest mission administration software program”.
For merchandise, I analysed prompts round queries corresponding to “greatest entry-level DSLR” and “greatest house treadmill”.
Within the company class, I checked out phrases associated to companies providing providers masking search engine marketing, social media, promoting, branding, basic advertising, and internet design.
In conventional search engine marketing, these phrases are estimated to be looked for a whole bunch of hundreds of instances per month.
That mentioned, it’s probably that the phrases folks 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.
It’s additionally probably {that a} notable proportion of suggestions are given as the results of a multi-query dialog, quite than a single immediate.
For that reason, I haven’t regarded into essentially the most beneficial manufacturers or the top-cited domains general, however quite 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 examine 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 discovered and concepts for future analysis primarily based on my findings.
The desk beneath covers the commonest web page varieties we noticed throughout all three classes.
It contains each first-party mentions—when a beneficial model or product’s personal web site is cited—and third-party mentions.
Nearly all of web page varieties we analysed needs to be self-explanatory, however for these which might be essentially the most distinguished, right here’s some further clarification:
- Weblog checklist: A listing 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 Legislation
- 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 presents, or a market a SaaS firm has an answer e.g., this web page on Siege Media exhibiting they provide internet design providers
- Social media: This covers websites like Reddit, Fb, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Hyperlinks might seem inline with suggestions, or as supply hyperlinks, which have been used for analysis however require an extra 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 be taught.g2.com subdomain hosts content material varieties very totally different from customary 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 pleased with 95% of what we initially noticed.
In some classes there’s a transparent shift during which web page kind featured prominently. Touchdown pages are generally cited when on the lookout for one of the best 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 “greatest” 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 performed by hand, as automation wouldn’t be as correct. For instance, many lists declare they’ve a sure variety of gadgets, once they typically have extra and easily haven’t up to date their title or headline.
Automation to find out the place a model featured in a listing could be much more advanced. Particularly as they’re not at all times introduced in a clear checklist of numbered headings.
Within the instance beneath, you’ll be able to see that Asana options as the highest spot in their very own checklist of one of the best mission 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 “greatest” 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 gadgets, so there’ll at all times be extra suggestions at greater checklist positions.
To assist resolve 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 a listing, no matter its measurement.
As we are able to see from the general distribution, there’s nonetheless a robust development in the direction of corporations and merchandise that ranked greater within the related checklist.
I needed to do one higher than that and likewise share a chart targeted on a separate set of lists with 10 or extra gadgets. There we see a much less distinguished consequence, but it surely’s trending in the identical course:
Another elements is perhaps in play right here, as lined within the aforementioned supplemental doc.
One fast conclusion we would logically soar to is that when going via content material on a web site, LLMs aren’t parsing the whole web page, and thus solely “seeing” among the high suggestions.
I spoke briefly with Dan Petrovic from DEJAN search engine marketing, who has performed in depth analysis on this area, and steered which may not be the case. A few of his evaluation reveals that kind of content material could be extracted relying on the area or web page being sourced.
We’re nonetheless learning this, so I hesitate to offer a definitive conclusion, however even when AI weren’t a factor, you’d logically wish to function greater on a listing of beneficial software program, merchandise or service suppliers in your business.
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 prior 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.
Curiously, extra articles had been up to date since publication (57.1%) than these printed and left as is.
Maintaining articles updated might assist them carry out higher in conventional search, however our information exhibits 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 essentially the most official web sites.
Many lack any human presence and look virtually solely like they have been constructed for hyperlink constructing and / or quotation functions.
Whereas the bar for high quality needs to be greater 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 effectively in Bing however not as effectively in Google.
Whereas Ahrefs Area Ranking isn’t an ideal indicator of website high quality, if I take 1,000 cited greatest 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 official websites, however different AI search platforms will probably must develop stronger belief and high quality scoring going ahead.
I count on we’ll see the left aspect of this chart decline over time.
Whereas nearly all of this examine was targeted on ChatGPT, the prominence of those comparability articles isn’t unique to OpenAI’s platform
The truth is, 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.
Wanting on the high 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 companies and merchandise differs from the way it at present recommends software program.
Whenever you’re on the lookout for an company, you’ll be able to typically click on straight on that company’s title to come out a sidebar and be taught extra about it.
Sadly, for the needs of analyzing totally different classes, this isn’t at all times the case.
As you’ll be able to see beneath, 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 beneath their title.
Sidenote.
In ChatGPT 5.1 these sidebars appear to not seem for companies, so it’s lucky that we didn’t give attention to mentions in them.
Because of this inconsistency, for agency-focused prompts we determined to give attention to the hyperlink related to a model, quite 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 could have technically allowed us to search out much 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 inner touchdown web page was extra prone to seem than its homepage or greatest weblog checklist.
The desk beneath exhibits the share of prompts that first-party mentions confirmed up in, by web page kind.
| 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 Publish | 4.8% | 0.4% | 12.4% |
| Product Web page | 0.4% | 87.2% |
Sidenote.
Observe: We aren’t anticipating columns so as to add as much as 100%, since a number of web page varieties can seem in a single response.
An easy clarification for touchdown pages outperforming weblog lists within the software program and company classes is that corporations are much more prone to have created touchdown pages masking the providers and options they provide, than to have made a self-serving weblog checklist.
Although they weren’t essentially the most distinguished first-party web page kind, a self-promotional weblog checklist nonetheless confirmed up in additional than a 3rd of ChatGPT responses within the software program class.
I discovered they have been much more distinguished in Google SERPs,
Throughout 250 “greatest X software program”-style SERPs, 169 (67.6%) featured a listing during which the corporate writing the article ranks itself primary.
Carry out any kind of “greatest [seo / web design / branding] company” search in Google and there’s a robust probability you’ll see a self-promotional checklist rating effectively.
Within the merchandise class, it was uncommon for an organization’s personal weblog checklist to look, just because numerous product corporations don’t publish them.
You received’t see a web page on Nike.com recommending Reebok, however they may 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 may wish to be certain that these pages are priceless and as much as date.
The entire information factors to a transparent reply: Companies and SaaS corporations ought to publish self-promotional “greatest” lists.
Numerous common manufacturers like Shopify, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Superside have written them, and there seems to be no draw back from a rating or quotation perspective.
There’s additionally an argument for being happy 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 typically 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 aimed toward creating unhealthy consumer experiences normally, quite than focusing on self-serving weblog lists, Mark Williams-Cook dinner made a fantastic level on LinkedIn that poor consumer indicators may meet up with you sooner or later.
Siege Media founder Ross Hudgens agrees these indicators are essential, however argues you’ll be able to place your personal model first and nonetheless present worth.
Company proprietor Wil Reynolds, whom I’ve revered for years, had one other opinion:
Any marketer value a rattling is aware of itemizing your self on the high of a listing hosted in your website doesn’t construct belief with patrons.
It wasn’t a standard incidence, however I did discover examples of corporations 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 opponents with their very own advertising.
You’ll must resolve which method is smart for your online business, however let me at the very least share our present take.
At Ahrefs, our pondering is easy: We might 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 % of our whole weblog content material.
We’re not going to create them for each software or potential use case.
We received’t at all times put ourselves within the high spot, as is already the case.
We’ll proceed to make it clear that we are the Ahrefs being beneficial.
(Nearly each firm selling itself does so within the third particular person, as in the event that they’re subtly attempting to miss that they’re writing about their very own enterprise.)
And we’ll maintain linking on to different options so guests can analysis them on their personal.
One change we are making because of this analysis is to have a good time extra of our wins.
There have been many instances the place manufacturers have been talked about alongside constructive firm updates, as proven beneath for Monday.com.
In one other case, when fitness center administration software program Kilo was talked about, it was alongside their announcement of incomes an award from Capterra.
We might do a a lot better job there, with the potential added advantage of 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 consistently updating our product with new options, sharing authentic information and analysis, and being lively the place our viewers is.
Mentions from manufacturers like Zapier are at all times good to see
As we’ve performed after we spent $400,000 operating an occasion, $1M+ sponsoring creators, or revealing how we resolve the enterprise potential of recent weblog posts, we’ll maintain 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.
You probably have any ideas on how I might enhance the subsequent iteration of this examine or anything you prefer to me to dive into, please let me know over on LinkedIn or X.
