Google's AI answers lean on just ten sites. ChatGPT does not
A Semrush index says the two biggest AI answer engines pick their sources in very different ways.
Google's AI Mode pulls its answers from a small cluster of websites. ChatGPT spreads the same job across a much wider pool. That is the headline finding from Semrush's AI Visibility Index 2026, shared by Connor Gillivan, who has run SEO for 15 years and posted the data as a paid partnership with Semrush.
The index tracked more than 180 million AI answers across nine markets and four platforms. In the US data from January to July, the top ten sources held between 27.9% and 39.2% of citation weight in AI Mode. Citation weight is just a measure of how much of the answers a source accounts for. On ChatGPT, over the same period and the same market, the top ten held only 14.3% to 15.8%.
Same country, same language, very different shape.
Why that matters for your site
If you are trying to get mentioned in Google's AI answers, you are competing for space in a short list that a handful of big domains already dominate. Getting cited there often means getting mentioned or linked on one of those domains, not just ranking your own page. On ChatGPT, no small group holds that much ground, so a wider spread of sites has a shot.
This builds on the point we covered earlier, that checking one AI tool tells you very little about the others.
It changes by country too
Aleyda Solis points out that the updated index now covers nine markets and 22 industries across ChatGPT, AI Mode, Gemini and AI Overviews, and that the sources and brands it shows are clearly local. Her warning is for anyone assuming US results carry over to other English speaking countries.
One thing to do this week. Pick the one AI tool your customers actually use, ask it three questions a buyer would ask about your product or service, and write down which websites it names. Those are the sites worth getting mentioned on. Do not assume the list is the same on the next tool you try.
Ten domains can account for nearly 40% of AI Mode’s citation weight
Most teams still audit AI visibility the way they audit Google.
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