AI Tools Recommend Brands But Cite Other Sites as Sources, New Data Shows

A Shero Commerce analysis of citation patterns across Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity found that brand-owned websites account for just 2.8% of the 1,851 sources cited in product recommendations, while third-party sites like Good Housekeeping and Reviewed.com make up 59% of citations—a pattern that persists even when AI tools directly name brands. Google AI Mode cited sampled brands in only 9.5% of relevant checks, though the research notes that ChatGPT and Perplexity recommended popular brands more frequently, citing third-party sites rather than official brand pages. The findings raise questions about why AI systems favor third-party sources over primary brand content, though the analysis does not conclusively explain the mechanism behind these citation preferences or test whether improving product descriptions and originality would shift citation behavior.