When we asked the models behind ChatGPT and Perplexity, via their APIs with web search, the questions our own buyers ask, they cited 15 different websites, mostly SEO and marketing companies, publishers and business-software sites, plus LinkedIn, and not our own site.
This post gives a grouped summary of them (some names withheld), says what the list does and doesn’t tell you, and shows how to build the same list for your own buyers’ questions. It comes from one scan of one site on one day, so read it as a snapshot.
Which websites did ChatGPT and Perplexity cite for our buyers’ questions?
On Sep 30, 2026 they cited the 15 websites summarised in the table below, and answersky.com was not one of them.
| Type of site | Sites cited |
|---|---|
| Publishers and contributor sites | entrepreneur.com, searchengineland.com, builtin.com |
| Business-software sites | blog.hubspot.com, zapier.com |
| SEO and marketing agencies or tools | Six sites (names withheld) |
| Other AI-visibility tools' own sites | Two other AI-visibility tools' own sites (not named here) |
| Social platform | linkedin.com |
| AI vendor help pages | help.openai.com |
Grouped summary of the 15 websites ChatGPT and Perplexity cited for our buyer questions on Sep 30, 2026, with some names withheld: 3 publishers, 2 business-software sites, 6 SEO and marketing sites (names withheld), 2 AI-visibility tools' sites (not named), LinkedIn and 1 AI vendor help site.
This was the baseline scan of answersky.com: 9 questions, each asked 3 ways, put to the models behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity via their APIs with web search. The cited sites come from the ChatGPT and Perplexity answers only (more on Gemini below). The apps can answer differently from the APIs. How we ask is on how it works, and our results and weekly changes go on the public log.
What kinds of sites get cited?
In our scan, mostly outside sites that publish about marketing, SEO and business software. The largest group in the table is SEO and marketing companies, then publishers, then business-software sites.
The rest is a mix: LinkedIn, an AI vendor’s help pages, and two other AI-visibility tools’ own sites.
One limit: we recorded the site, not the page. We can’t say how many of those citations were roundups, how-to posts or product pages, and a domain alone doesn’t tell you the format of the page. The table shows the mix of site categories we saw in this one scan, nothing more.
We say “cited”, not “trusted” or “preferred”. The scan shows which sites an answer pointed to. It doesn’t show why.
Why isn’t Gemini in the list?
In our scan, Gemini’s sources came back as links on vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com, a Google redirect address, instead of each site’s own address, and our scanner doesn’t resolve those yet. Google’s documentation shows an example source link with that domain (Gemini API documentation, checked Oct 3, 2026), so the format is Google’s own. We aren’t saying Gemini hides its sources.
Gemini answers were part of the scan. We just left them out of the cited-sites list rather than guess.
Will the same sites show up for my business?
Probably not all of them. Which sites get cited depends on the question and the category, and our list covers one category on one day.
A business in a different field, or a business with different buyer questions, may see different sites, and the same question can return different sources on another day. So don’t copy our table as a to-do list. Build your own, using the steps below.
What are we doing to get our own business cited?
We plan to start with free listings and pitches, not paid placements. The idea is a company page on LinkedIn, and pitches to a few roundup pages on the kinds of sites in the table.
We plan to try one listing a week and record each one on the log with its date and result. We don’t know whether a listing leads to a mention. Logging each one is how we’ll find out. We’ll name a listing here only once it is live and logged.
Mentions on other sites aren’t a sure route to being named. Our first post goes through what the evidence does and doesn’t show.
How do I find the sites AI cites for my buyers’ questions?
Ask the assistants your buyers’ questions and read the sources they show. Answers that search the web can point back to the pages they drew on, so you can see where the assistant looked. The steps:
- Write the question as your buyer would, not your company name. For example, “Who’s the best moving company in Portland?” rather than “What do you know about my firm?”
- Ask Perplexity and look for the sources shown with the answer. Perplexity’s developer documentation says its Agent API returns “a
search_resultsitem for the sources” alongside the answer text (Perplexity Agent API documentation, checked Oct 3, 2026). That describes the Agent API. The Perplexity app may lay sources out differently, so check what it shows under your answer. - Ask ChatGPT in a fresh chat. OpenAI says: “Select Sources, when available, to view cited sources and other relevant links” (OpenAI Help Center, checked Oct 3, 2026). “When available” matters: not every answer shows them.
- Write down the domains, next to the date, the assistant, the wording and who was named. How to check if ChatGPT mentions your business has a sheet to copy.
- Repeat on another day, with different wordings. One answer is a sample, not a verdict.
For your own pages, Bing Webmaster Tools has an AI Performance report, in public preview. Microsoft describes it as showing how publisher content appears across Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing, and select partner integrations (Bing Webmaster Blog, Feb 10, 2026; checked Oct 3, 2026).
If you’d rather not do it by hand, our free Quick Scan shows who AI named instead of you, not the cited sites. The Full Report lists the cited sites from ChatGPT and Perplexity answers. See pricing.
Free Quick Scan: 6 of your buyers’ questions on ChatGPT and Perplexity, 12 answers, and who AI named instead of you. Report within 3 business days. See pricing.