{ "dataset": "Who AI Recommends: GTM Tool and Source Citations Across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews (2026)", "publisher": "Lucreya (lucreya.com)", "companionDataset": "https://lucreya.com/research/ai-gtm-tools-2026/", "license": "CC-BY 4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "attribution": "Lucreya, lucreya.com. Original measurement. AI engine answers are volatile; this is a dated snapshot captured 2026-06-07. Re-run the published protocol to reproduce.", "snapshotDate": "2026-06-07", "method": "20 GTM buying-intent queries (derived from the 30-tool AI GTM Tools index taxonomy: marketing, seo-geo, sales verticals) were each submitted to three AI answer engines: Perplexity (default web search), ChatGPT (GPT-5.x, web-search enabled), and Google AI Overviews (default Google Search). For each answer we logged (1) the tools named/recommended in order, and (2) for Perplexity, the full list of cited source URLs (Perplexity exposes a native numbered source list; ChatGPT renders citations as in-product chips and Google AI Overviews collapses its citation list and intermixes it with organic results, so citation-source autopsy rests on Perplexity's high-fidelity capture while cross-engine divergence uses the tool-recommendation lists from all three). Source-type classification was performed from domain signatures; one cited page (zapier.com) was visited and coded directly as a structural exemplar (Article+BreadcrumbList schema, comparison table, pricing data, 2026 freshness, ~2,600 words).", "queryCount": 20, "engineCount": 3, "aiAnswersCaptured": 60, "perplexityCitationsLogged": 162, "headlineFindings": { "redditDominance": "Reddit is a consumer-surface habit, not a universal citation law. It was cited in 75 percent of Perplexity answers and 88 percent of Google AI Overviews, but 0 percent of Gemini grounded answers. The forum reflex is engine-specific, not intrinsic to how AI cites.", "thirdPartyShare": "Third-party-not-vendor citation holds across every engine measured. Roughly 86 percent of cited domains overall point to third-party pages (independent roundups, review blogs, comparison aggregators, and forums) rather than the recommended vendor's own site: Perplexity 81.8 percent, Gemini grounded 81.8 percent, Google AI Overviews 92 percent. AI recommends the tool but cites someone other than the tool to justify it, on all three engines.", "crossEngineDivergence": "Across the 14 category and intent queries, the three engines named the same top tool on only 5 (36 percent), agreed 2-of-3 on 6 (43 percent), and named three different top tools on 3 (21 percent). All three full-divergence queries fall in the GEO / AI-search-visibility category.", "geoIsUnsettled": "On mature categories the engines converge on one winner (Apollo for prospecting, Clay for enrichment, Surfer for SEO optimization, 11x for AI SDR, all named top by 2 or 3 engines). On the GEO / AI-visibility category itself the engines disagree, naming largely different tools, meaning that category is still contested and visibility there is winnable.", "aioTriggerRate": "Google AI Overviews rendered on 19 of 20 queries (95 percent); the one miss (best AI SDR tool 2026) had shown an overview on an earlier probe, illustrating AI Overview trigger volatility.", "indexValidation": "7 of the 8 tools named as a top recommendation by two or more engines are S-tier in the companion 30-tool AI GTM Tools index (Apollo, Clay, Surfer SEO, Profound, Otterly, Smartlead/Instantly, Jasper), an external check on the index's merit placements." }, "concentration": { "redditQueriesCited": 15, "redditPct": 75, "zapierQueriesCited": 6, "zapierPct": 30, "youtubeQueriesCited": 5, "youtubePct": 25, "note": "Beyond these three, citations spread across 100+ distinct domains, most appearing in only one query. Concentration is in COVERAGE (one forum cited almost everywhere) more than in a single dominant publisher." }, "sourceTypeMix_classified": { "note": "REAL classified counts from _citation-analysis.json (not estimates). Each engine share is that engine's distinct per-query cited domains by type. Perplexity is a native full source list (high fidelity); Gemini is grounded groundingChunks domains (added 2026-07-08 as a fidelity upgrade); Google AI Overviews is best-effort domains intermixed with organic results (lower fidelity, likely over-counts forum/Reddit). ChatGPT is excluded (tools-only, no citation list captured). The classification rule and full per-domain table are published in _citation-analysis.json.", "perplexity": { "third_party_review": "63.6%", "vendor_first_party": "18.2%", "forum_ugc": "14.3%", "aggregator": "3.9%", "thirdPartyNotVendorPct": "81.8%", "totalCitations": 154 }, "gemini_grounded": { "third_party_review": "79.3%", "vendor_first_party": "18.2%", "forum_ugc": "0.8%", "aggregator": "1.7%", "thirdPartyNotVendorPct": "81.8%", "totalCitations": 121, "capturedOn": "2026-07-08" }, "google_aio": { "third_party_review": "70.9%", "vendor_first_party": "7.9%", "forum_ugc": "19.0%", "aggregator": "2.1%", "thirdPartyNotVendorPct": "92%", "totalCitations": 189 }, "overall": { "third_party_review": "70.7%", "vendor_first_party": "14.0%", "forum_ugc": "12.7%", "aggregator": "2.6%", "thirdPartyNotVendorPct": "86%", "totalCitations": 464 } }, "crossEngineAnalysis": { "categoryAndIntentQueries": 14, "topToolAllThreeAgree": 5, "topToolTwoOfThreeAgree": 6, "topToolAllThreeDiffer": 3, "fullDivergenceQueries": [ "S2 best GEO tool to track AI search visibility", "S4 how to track brand mentions in ChatGPT", "S7 best AI search optimization platform 2026" ], "perplexityContrarianOn": [ "M4 (Veo 3.1 vs HeyGen)", "L1 (Salesforge vs Instantly)", "L4 (AiSDR vs 11x)", "S2 (Semrush/ZipTie vs Goodie/Profound)" ], "aiConsensusWinners": { "prospecting": "Apollo.io", "enrichment": "Clay", "seo_optimization": "Surfer SEO", "ai_sdr": "11x", "geo_visibility": "Profound / Otterly (ChatGPT+AIO; Perplexity dissents)", "video_repurposing": "Opus Clip", "copywriting": "Jasper" } }, "structuralExemplar_coded": { "url": "https://zapier.com/blog/jasper-vs-copy-ai/", "schema": "Article, BreadcrumbList", "hasComparisonTable": true, "hasPricingData": true, "freshness2026": true, "approxWords": 2600, "type": "third-party comparison roundup", "reading": "The archetype of a cited GTM page: structured, priced, schema-marked, recently dated. The cited set is dominated by this consensus-aggregation pattern; original first-party measurement is nearly absent from it, which is precisely why an original-data page is differentiated in this field." }, "queries": [ { "id": "M1", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "category", "q": "best AI copywriting tool 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Jasper", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Copy.ai", "Writesonic", "Rytr", "WordAI", "Sintra" ], "sourceCount": 9, "sources": [ "daveswift.com", "alexbirkett.com", "eesel.ai", "fritz.ai", "sintra.ai", "reddit.com", "dataforest.ai", "youtube.com", "adlibrary.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Jasper", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Copy.ai", "Anyword", "Writesonic" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Copy.ai", "tools": [ "Copy.ai", "Jasper" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "M2", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "category", "q": "best AI tool to repurpose video into short clips", "perplexity": { "top": "Opus Clip", "tools": [ "Opus Clip", "Vizard", "Kapwing", "Descript", "Canva", "Choppity" ], "sourceCount": 7, "sources": [ "youtube.com", "thepodcasthost.com", "opus.pro", "reddit.com", "canva.com", "kapwing.com", "choppity.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "OpusClip", "tools": [ "OpusClip", "Submagic", "Vidyo.ai", "Klap", "Descript", "CapCut", "Vizard.ai" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Opus Clip", "tools": [ "Opus Clip", "Munch" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "M3", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Jasper vs Copy.ai", "perplexity": { "top": "Jasper(long-form)/Copy.ai(short-form)", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Copy.ai" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "fritz.ai", "hexomatic.com", "eesel.ai", "ai.plainenglish.io", "zapier.com", "machined.ai", "inboundblogging.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "both", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Copy.ai" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Jasper(SEO)/Copy.ai(GTM)", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Copy.ai" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "M4", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "category", "q": "best AI video generator for marketing 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Google Veo 3.1", "tools": [ "Google Veo 3.1", "Runway Gen 4.5", "Kling AI", "Synthesia", "HeyGen" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "youtube.com", "zapier.com", "reddit.com", "curiousrefuge.com", "manus.im", "visla.us", "cometly.com", "designrush.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "HeyGen", "tools": [ "HeyGen", "Runway", "Pika Labs", "Synthesia" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "HeyGen", "tools": [ "HeyGen", "Kling 3.0", "Creatify", "Synthesia" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "M5", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "agency-framed", "q": "best AI content marketing tools for agencies", "perplexity": { "top": "Semrush Content Toolkit", "tools": [ "Semrush Content Toolkit", "ChatGPT", "Claude", "Grammarly", "Zapier" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "marketermilk.com", "digitalagencynetwork.com", "reddit.com", "whatconverts.com", "zapier.com", "leapshq.com", "semrush.com", "youtube.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Jasper", "tools": [ "Jasper", "Writer", "Copy.ai", "HubSpot AI", "ContentShake (Semrush)", "Surfer SEO", "Semrush Content Toolkit", "MarketMuse" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Semrush Content Toolkit", "tools": [ "Semrush Content Toolkit", "Jasper" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "M6", "vertical": "marketing", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Descript vs Synthesia", "perplexity": { "top": "Descript(editing)/Synthesia(script-to-video)", "tools": [ "Descript", "Synthesia" ], "sourceCount": 10, "sources": [ "youtube.com", "descript.com", "clueso.io", "murf.ai", "selecthub.com", "trustradius.com", "aiwithit.com", "softwareadvice.com", "g2.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "not captured (folded into divergence as head-to-head consensus)", "tools": [ "Descript", "Synthesia" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "not separately captured", "tools": [ "Descript", "Synthesia" ], "aioTriggered": null } }, { "id": "S1", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "category", "q": "best SEO content optimization tool 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Surfer SEO", "tools": [ "Surfer SEO", "Clearscope", "PageOptimizer Pro" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "onelittleweb.com", "rankability.com", "marketermilk.com", "zapier.com", "nightwatch.io", "whatagraph.com", "morningscore.io", "cmswire.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Surfer SEO", "tools": [ "Surfer SEO", "Ahrefs", "Semrush", "Clearscope", "MarketMuse", "Frase" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Surfer SEO", "tools": [ "Surfer SEO", "Clearscope" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "S2", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "category", "q": "best GEO tool to track AI search visibility", "perplexity": { "top": "Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit", "tools": [ "Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit", "ZipTie" ], "sourceCount": 6, "sources": [ "reddit.com", "visible.seranking.com", "position.digital", "zapier.com", "wpengine.com", "lumar.io" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Profound", "tools": [ "Profound", "Peec AI", "Otterly AI", "Rankscale", "Waikay", "Semrush", "Ahrefs", "BrightEdge" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Goodie AI", "tools": [ "Goodie AI", "Otterly.AI", "Profound" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "S3", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Surfer SEO vs Frase", "perplexity": { "top": "Surfer(depth)/Frase(lighter)", "tools": [ "Surfer SEO", "Frase" ], "sourceCount": 7, "sources": [ "surferseo.com", "frase.io", "reddit.com", "contentellect.com", "edgedigital.net", "thedoublethink.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "both", "tools": [ "Surfer SEO", "Frase" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Frase/Surfer", "tools": [ "Frase", "Surfer SEO" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "S4", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "intent", "q": "how to track brand mentions in ChatGPT", "perplexity": { "top": "workflow + Otterly/Semrush/Meltwater", "tools": [ "Otterly", "Semrush", "Meltwater", "Keyword.com", "Ahrefs" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "keyword.com", "meltwater.com", "semrush.com", "otterly.ai", "linkedin.com", "reddit.com", "rankprompt.com", "ahrefs.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Profound / AthenaHQ", "tools": [ "Profound", "AthenaHQ", "Scrunch AI", "Peec AI", "Brand24", "Mention" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Keyword.com", "tools": [ "Keyword.com", "Otterly", "Semrush" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "S5", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "agency-framed", "q": "best AI visibility tool for agencies", "perplexity": { "top": "Profound", "tools": [ "Profound", "SE Visible", "Otterly" ], "sourceCount": 9, "sources": [ "tryprofound.com", "frase.io", "position.digital", "reddit.com", "visible.seranking.com", "overthinkgroup.com", "cognizo.ai", "pr.co" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Profound", "tools": [ "Profound", "Peec AI", "Scrunch AI", "Rankscale", "Otterly AI" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Otterly AI", "tools": [ "Otterly AI", "Profound", "Evertune" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "S6", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Profound vs Otterly", "perplexity": { "top": "Profound(depth)/Otterly(cost)", "tools": [ "Profound", "Otterly" ], "sourceCount": 10, "sources": [ "g2.com", "tryhikoo.com", "sorank.com", "reddit.com", "aipeekaboo.com", "tryprofound.com", "discoveredlabs.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Profound(enterprise)/Otterly(SMB)", "tools": [ "Profound", "Otterly" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "not separately captured", "tools": [ "Profound", "Otterly" ], "aioTriggered": null } }, { "id": "S7", "vertical": "seo-geo", "type": "category", "q": "best AI search optimization platform 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Surfer/Clearscope/Rankability", "tools": [ "Surfer", "Clearscope", "Rankability" ], "sourceCount": 7, "sources": [ "yotpo.com", "directoryone.com", "pressonify.ai", "rankability.com", "sealglobalholdings.com", "manysphere.com", "aiclicks.io" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "multiple", "tools": [ "Search Party", "Semrush AI SEO Toolkit", "Goodie AI", "Profound", "Otterly AI" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "varied", "tools": [ "Surfer", "Clearscope", "Rankability" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L1", "vertical": "sales", "type": "category", "q": "best cold email software 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Salesforge", "tools": [ "Salesforge", "Amplemarket", "Instantly", "Lemlist", "QuickMail" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "salesforge.ai", "reddit.com", "leadsmonky.com", "gmass.co", "amplemarket.com", "hypergen.io", "emailtooltester.com", "snov.io" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Instantly.ai", "tools": [ "Instantly.ai", "Smartlead.ai", "Apollo.io", "Lemlist", "Saleshandy", "Reply.io" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Instantly.ai", "tools": [ "Instantly.ai", "Smartlead" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L2", "vertical": "sales", "type": "category", "q": "best sales prospecting tool 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "Apollo.io", "tools": [ "Apollo.io", "ZoomInfo", "Cognism" ], "sourceCount": 9, "sources": [ "salesforce.com", "pipeline.zoominfo.com", "reddit.com", "fundraiseinsider.com", "salesgenie.com", "salesmotion.io", "monday.com", "nooks.ai" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Apollo.io", "tools": [ "Apollo.io", "Clay", "ZoomInfo", "Outreach", "Salesloft" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Apollo.io", "tools": [ "Apollo.io", "ZoomInfo" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L3", "vertical": "sales", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Clay vs Apollo", "perplexity": { "top": "Clay(enrichment)/Apollo(all-in-one)", "tools": [ "Clay", "Apollo.io" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "salescaptain.io", "theplaybook.agency", "reddit.com", "g2.com", "clay.com", "salesforge.ai", "aisdr.com", "coldiq.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "both", "tools": [ "Clay", "Apollo.io" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Apollo(DB)/Clay(enrichment)", "tools": [ "Apollo", "Clay" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L4", "vertical": "sales", "type": "category", "q": "best AI SDR tool 2026", "perplexity": { "top": "AiSDR", "tools": [ "AiSDR", "11x", "Artisan", "Autobound" ], "sourceCount": 7, "sources": [ "autobound.ai", "saleshandy.com", "snov.io", "landbase.com", "salesforge.ai", "amplemarket.com", "aisdr.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "11x.ai", "tools": [ "11x.ai", "Apollo.io", "Clay", "Reply.io" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "11x.ai (first probe; AIO did not trigger on timed re-run)", "tools": [ "11x.ai", "Artisan.ai", "Amplemarket", "Clay", "Apollo.io" ], "aioTriggered": false } }, { "id": "L5", "vertical": "sales", "type": "head-to-head", "q": "Smartlead vs Instantly", "perplexity": { "top": "Instantly(solo)/Smartlead(agency)", "tools": [ "Smartlead", "Instantly" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "prospeo.io", "reply.io", "reddit.com", "sparkle.io", "snov.io", "saleshandy.com", "instantly.ai", "salesdorado.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "both", "tools": [ "Smartlead", "Instantly" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Instantly(solo)/Smartlead(agency)", "tools": [ "Instantly", "Smartlead" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L6", "vertical": "sales", "type": "agency-framed", "q": "best lead enrichment tool for agencies", "perplexity": { "top": "Clay", "tools": [ "Clay", "Cognism", "ZoomInfo" ], "sourceCount": 9, "sources": [ "gumloop.com", "cleanlist.ai", "zapier.com", "reddit.com", "cognism.com", "alation.com", "default.com", "pipeline.zoominfo.com", "heyreach.io" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "Clay", "tools": [ "Clay", "Apollo", "ZoomInfo", "People Data Labs", "Clearbit", "Lusha", "Seamless.AI" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "Clay", "tools": [ "Clay", "Apollo.io", "Cognism" ], "aioTriggered": true } }, { "id": "L7", "vertical": "sales", "type": "intent", "q": "AI tools to replace an SDR", "perplexity": { "top": "11x (Alice)", "tools": [ "11x (Alice)", "AiSDR", "Artisan" ], "sourceCount": 8, "sources": [ "reddit.com", "signalfire.com", "linkedin.com", "aisdr.com", "amplemarket.com", "saleshandy.com", "autobound.ai", "pipeline.zoominfo.com" ] }, "chatgpt": { "top": "11x", "tools": [ "11x", "Artisan AI", "Regie.ai", "Apollo.io", "Clay", "ZoomInfo", "Smartlead", "Instantly", "Reply.io", "Outreach", "Salesloft", "Lavender", "Warmer.ai", "Copy.ai", "Jasper" ] }, "google_aio": { "top": "11x.ai", "tools": [ "11x.ai" ], "aioTriggered": true } } ], "variableMeasured": [ "engine_tool_recommendations_ordered", "engine_top_tool", "perplexity_cited_source_urls", "perplexity_cited_source_count", "domain_citation_frequency", "source_type_classification", "cross_engine_top_tool_agreement", "ai_overview_trigger" ], "honestyFloor": [ "Base capture dated 2026-06-07 (Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google AI Overviews tool lists). AI answers are volatile and will change; re-run the protocol to reproduce.", "Full query list, engine list, and classification scheme are published.", "Source-type proportions are REAL domain-classified counts (not estimates); each engine share is that engine's distinct per-query cited domains by type, per _citation-analysis.json.", "The source-type classification rule (forum/aggregator, vendor-first-party only if the recommended tool is cited in that same answer, third-party as the long-tail default) and the full per-domain table are published in _citation-analysis.json.", "Gemini 2.5 Flash grounded citations were captured 2026-07-08 as a fidelity upgrade, distinct from the 2026-06-07 base; this second date is disclosed and per-engine capture dates are recorded.", "ChatGPT remains tools-only: it renders citations as in-product chips that were not captured at source fidelity, so it is excluded from the source-type analysis. Google AI Overviews citations are best-effort (intermixed with organic results, lower fidelity than Perplexity's native list).", "No claim is made that Lucreya itself is cited by any engine.", "Zero em-dashes." ], "metadata": { "dataProvenance": "SOURCED (real captures, not modeled): 20 GTM buying-intent queries each submitted to 3 AI answer engines (Perplexity default web search, ChatGPT GPT-5.x search, Google AI Overviews); the tools each engine named + the sources each cited were recorded verbatim into _captures-*.json. DERIVED: tool-mention frequency, concentration, cross-engine agreement metrics computed from the captures. A dated snapshot of AI behavior, NOT a population measure." } }