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ChatGPT and Perplexity Citation Patterns Differ Sharply: A 1,750-Answer Study

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Research

TLDR

Analysis of 1,750 ChatGPT and Perplexity answers shows Perplexity cites brand sites 2.6× more often than ChatGPT on discovery prompts.

Optimixed Overview

Optimixed's original report on this story.

SEOFOMO News reports on research analyzing 1,750 paired answers from ChatGPT and Perplexity across 875 brand-prompt pairs covering 49 brands. On non-branded discovery prompts, Perplexity cited the tracked brand's own site in 14.3% of answers versus 5.5% for ChatGPT—a significant 2.6× difference. The study also distinguishes between citations and brand mentions, highlights how branded prompts can distort visibility measurements, and makes full methodology and answer-level data publicly available.

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