Howseen data · 2026
Google's AI Cites YouTube in 45% of Answers. ChatGPT Never Does. (2026 Data)
In 5,331 AI answers collected in 2026, Google AI Overviews cited YouTube 45.0% of the time, while ChatGPT did not cite it once.
By Raphaël Aubry, founder of Howseen AI · Published · Updated Free report: no card, 10 buyer questions on ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, in about 2 minutes. Trial: 3 days, card required, then €79 per site per month. Cancel anytime from your settings.
Summary
YouTube vs Reddit in AI search: the key numbers
Google's AI surfaces cite YouTube far more than any other engine, ChatGPT ignores it entirely, and Reddit has nearly vanished from ChatGPT answers in 2026.
AI answers analysed
5,331
Aug 16 to Oct 4, 2026
Source links
41,711
cited in those answers
Distinct domains
5,724
across all engines
AI engines
5
Google x2, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini
Buyer questions
378
tracked by 16 accounts
- YouTube matters on Google's AI surfaces only. It is cited in 45.0% of AI Overviews answers and 27.4% of AI Mode answers. Of the 1,246 YouTube links in our data, 1,210 (97.1%) come from those two surfaces.
- ChatGPT never cited YouTube. It attaches sources to 97.8% of its answers, yet none of its 6,054 source links points to YouTube.
- Reddit barely shows up in ChatGPT: 11 of 1,164 answers (0.9%). Google AI Overviews cited it in 10.4% of its answers.
- Perplexity cites the most sources: 17.4 per answer on average, over three times ChatGPT's 5.2.
We built Howseen to answer one question for each brand: which sources does each AI engine trust when buyers ask about its category? This study pools that data across our accounts to see the pattern at a larger scale.
By engine
Which sources does Google AI Overviews cite? YouTube, by far
Google AI Overviews cites YouTube in 45.0% of its answers, more than any other domain, while ChatGPT cites it in 0 of 1,164 answers.
Google has two AI answer formats: AI Overviews, the AI summary shown at the top of a regular Google search, and AI Mode, a separate conversational search tab. We track both.
YouTube in Google AI Overviews
45.0%
390 of 867 answers
YouTube in Google AI Mode
27.4%
300 of 1,096 answers
YouTube in ChatGPT
0.0%
0 of 1,164 answers
Reddit in ChatGPT
0.9%
11 of 1,164 answers
See the data
| Engine | Answers | Citing YouTube | YouTube % | Citing Reddit | Reddit % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews | 867 | 390 | 45.0% | 90 | 10.4% |
| Google AI Mode | 1,096 | 300 | 27.4% | 54 | 4.9% |
| ChatGPT | 1,164 | 0 | 0.0% | 11 | 0.9% |
| Perplexity | 1,098 | 5 | 0.5% | 54 | 4.9% |
| Gemini | 1,106 | 11 | 1.0% | 53 | 4.8% |
The gap is large. YouTube is the most cited domain in Google AI Overviews, present in 390 of 867 answers. The next domains are far behind: facebook.com (99 answers), linkedin.com (96), reddit.com (90) and instagram.com (82). Google AI Mode follows the same pattern at a lower level, with YouTube in 300 of 1,096 answers. Google itself warns that its two AI surfaces do not behave the same way:
"AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so the set of responses and links they show will vary."
Outside Google Search, YouTube nearly disappears. Perplexity cites it in 5 of 1,098 answers and Gemini in 11 of 1,106. ChatGPT, with 1,164 answers, cites it zero times. Note that Gemini, also built by Google, sits at 1.0%: in our data, the YouTube effect belongs to Google's search surfaces, not to every Google product. Reddit trails YouTube on Google's surfaces: 10.4% in AI Overviews, around 5% in AI Mode, Perplexity and Gemini, and 0.9% in ChatGPT.
Which of these sources cite your brand?
See which sources ChatGPT and Google's AI cite for your buyers' questions. Free report in 2 minutes, no card.
Sources
How many sources does each AI engine cite?
Perplexity attaches 17.4 sources to the average answer, over three times ChatGPT's 5.2, while Google AI Mode attaches the fewest at 3.7.
Perplexity, sources per answer
17.4
19,051 links in 1,098 answers
YouTube links in AI Overviews
672
10.6% of its 6,367 links
AI Mode links to YouTube
13.4%
538 of 4,004, about 1 in 7.4
ChatGPT answers with a source
97.8%
1,138 of 1,164, none to YouTube
Gemini answers with a source
60.1%
665 of 1,106 answers
Perplexity links to its top 10 domains
8.7%
vs 22.1% to 22.9% on Google
| Engine | Answers | With 1+ source | Source links | Per answer | Distinct domains | YouTube links | Reddit links | Top 10 domains share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 1,164 | 1,138 (97.8%) | 6,054 | 5.2 | 1,535 | 0 (0.0%) | 16 (0.3%) | 18.0% |
| Gemini | 1,106 | 665 (60.1%) | 6,235 | 5.6 | 919 | 12 (0.2%) | 100 (1.6%) | 16.1% |
| Google AI Mode | 1,096 | 887 (80.9%) | 4,004 | 3.7 | 1,078 | 538 (13.4%) | 55 (1.4%) | 22.9% |
| Google AI Overviews | 867 | 774 (89.3%) | 6,367 | 7.3 | 1,777 | 672 (10.6%) | 108 (1.7%) | 22.1% |
| Perplexity | 1,098 | 1,098 (100%) | 19,051 | 17.4 | 3,190 | 24 (0.1%) | 62 (0.3%) | 8.7% |
| All engines | 5,331 | 41,711 | 5,724 | 1,246 |
Engines do not just pick different sources, they cite in very different volumes. Perplexity attaches a source to every answer and spreads its 19,051 links across 3,190 domains: its top 10 domains get only 8.7% of its links. Google's surfaces concentrate more, with 22.1% (AI Overviews) and 22.9% (AI Mode) of links going to their top 10 domains. Google AI Overviews alone links to YouTube 672 times, and in AI Mode roughly one link in 7.4 points to YouTube.
ChatGPT is the opposite case: it adds sources to 97.8% of its answers, yet never once to YouTube. Gemini adds sources to only 60.1% of its answers. Since answers without a source count as not citing, Gemini's low YouTube and Reddit shares partly reflect how often it gives no source at all. Note also that a share of answers is not a share of links: YouTube appears in 27.4% of AI Mode answers but makes up 13.4% of its links, because each answer cites several other domains too.
Week by week
Does ChatGPT cite YouTube? Not once, week after week
ChatGPT cited YouTube in 0.0% of its answers every week from September 7 to October 4, 2026, while Google's AI surfaces stayed far ahead.
AI Overviews, week of Sep 28
36.8%
vs 49.8% the week before
AI Mode, week of Sep 28
18.3%
vs 28.3% the week before
ChatGPT, every week
0.0%
4 weeks, 1,164 answers
See the data
| Week of | AI Overviews | AI Mode | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 | 70.7% (n=58) | 84.6% (n=78) | 0.0% (n=82) | 0.0% (n=80) | 0.0% (n=60) |
| Sep 14 | 45.5% (n=222) | 22.4% (n=312) | 0.0% (n=311) | 1.0% (n=312) | 1.3% (n=316) |
| Sep 21 | 49.8% (n=247) | 28.3% (n=346) | 0.0% (n=321) | 0.3% (n=346) | 0.6% (n=346) |
| Sep 28 (to Oct 4) | 36.8% (n=340) | 18.3% (n=360) | 0.0% (n=450) | 0.3% (n=360) | 1.4% (n=361) |
The weekly charts start on September 7. That first week is a small sample (58 to 82 answers per engine), so its high values, such as 84.6% for AI Mode and 70.7% for AI Overviews, should be read with caution. From the week of September 14, each engine has between 222 and 450 answers per week.
Google's YouTube share moves a lot from one week to the next. AI Overviews went from 45.5% to 49.8%, then down to 36.8%. AI Mode went from 22.4% to 28.3%, then down to 18.3%. Four weeks is too short to call that a trend. What does not move is the order: YouTube stays far more present in Google's AI answers than anywhere else, ChatGPT stays at exactly 0.0% every week, and Perplexity and Gemini never go above 1.4%.
Is Reddit still cited by AI in 2026? Barely, in ChatGPT
Reddit appears in only 0.9% of ChatGPT answers (11 of 1,164) in our 2026 data, while Google AI Overviews cites it in 10.4% of its answers.
Reddit in ChatGPT, week of Sep 28
0.7%
3 of 450 answers
Reddit in Perplexity, week of Sep 28
0.8%
vs 4.3% the week before
Reddit in AI Overviews, week of Sep 28
12.1%
highest of the five engines
See the data
| Week of | ChatGPT | Perplexity | AI Overviews | AI Mode | Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 | 2.4% (n=82) | 22.5% (n=80) | 19.0% (n=58) | 5.1% (n=78) | 6.7% (n=60) |
| Sep 14 | 1.0% (n=311) | 5.8% (n=312) | 7.7% (n=222) | 4.5% (n=312) | 4.1% (n=316) |
| Sep 21 | 0.9% (n=321) | 4.3% (n=346) | 8.5% (n=247) | 4.6% (n=346) | 5.2% (n=346) |
| Sep 28 (to Oct 4) | 0.7% (n=450) | 0.8% (n=360) | 12.1% (n=340) | 5.6% (n=360) | 5.0% (n=361) |
In ChatGPT, Reddit stays marginal every week: 2, 3, 3 and 3 answers per week, too few to call a trend. Over the whole period, only 11 of 1,164 ChatGPT answers cite reddit.com. Counted in links rather than answers, the picture is the same: 16 of ChatGPT's 6,054 source links (0.3%) point to Reddit. Our first week is small, so the 2.4% starting point is fragile, but the direction holds in the larger weeks that follow.
Perplexity also fell to 0.8% in the week of September 28, after 5.8% and 4.3% the two weeks before. Reddit has not left AI answers altogether: Google AI Overviews still cited it in 12.1% of answers that week, and Gemini and AI Mode stay around 5%.
For your brand
How to get your brand cited by ChatGPT vs Google AI
To get cited by Google's AI, publish YouTube videos that answer buyer questions; to get cited by ChatGPT, publish a page on your own site that answers the exact question.
Each AI engine has its own sources. Google's AI answers lean on YouTube and social platforms. ChatGPT leans on websites: brand sites, product documentation and expert or editor sites such as help.openai.com and developers.google.com. One content plan will not cover both. (For the mechanics behind the pick, see how AI chooses which brands to recommend.)
- If your buyers ask Google: publish YouTube videos that answer their questions directly. Google's AI answers cited YouTube in 27.4% (AI Mode) to 45.0% (AI Overviews) of cases in our data.
- If your buyers ask ChatGPT: publish a page on your own site that answers the exact question, clearly and early on the page. A video will not get you cited there: ChatGPT cited YouTube zero times in 1,164 answers.
- Measure per engine instead of guessing: an average across engines hides these gaps. Check which domains each engine cites for your own buyer questions before you choose where to publish. Our guide to AI visibility tools explains what they track and how to choose one.
Research on generative engine optimization (GEO) points the same way. The paper that introduced the term (Aggarwal et al., KDD 2024) reports that GEO "can boost visibility by up to 40%" in generative engine responses, and that "the efficacy of these strategies varies across domains". Our data adds a second axis: it also varies by engine. For online stores, our GEO guide for e-commerce turns this into a plan.
Building Howseen, this is the view we set out to give every brand: not just a visibility score, but which sources each engine trusts, question by question.
Check it on your own buyer questions
Run your questions through ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, and see who gets cited instead of you. Free, 2 minutes.
Methodology
How we measured it, and the limits
This study covers 5,331 answers from five AI engines to 378 buyer questions tracked by 16 Howseen accounts between August 16 and October 4, 2026.
- Data: Howseen visibility data. 5,331 AI answers to 378 buyer questions tracked by 16 Howseen accounts, with 41,711 source links to 5,724 distinct domains.
- Engines: Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, each queried through its API or search surface on a near-daily schedule.
- Period: August 16 to October 4, 2026. Apart from 23 Gemini answers from August, too few to chart weekly, all answers were collected from September 7. The weekly charts therefore start on September 7, with weeks starting on Monday.
- Definitions: an answer "cites" a domain if at least one of its sources is on that domain. Answers with no source count as not citing. Sources per answer = total source links divided by all answers, including answers with no source. Answers that returned an error are excluded.
Limits. This is the data of 16 Howseen accounts, not a sample of the whole web. Some sectors are over-represented: restaurant software, SEO and GEO tools, and e-commerce. That mix likely explains why SEO tool sites appear among ChatGPT's most cited domains. The first charted week is a small sample, and four weeks of weekly data is too short to separate a trend from normal week-to-week variation.
Questions, answered
Does ChatGPT cite YouTube?+
Not in our data. Across 1,164 ChatGPT answers to buyer questions collected between August 16 and October 4, 2026, none cited youtube.com, even though 97.8% of those answers included at least one source. ChatGPT's most cited domains were brand websites, product documentation and expert or editor sites.
Which sources does Google AI Overviews cite?+
YouTube first, by far. YouTube appeared in 390 of 867 Google AI Overviews answers (45.0%), ahead of facebook.com (99 answers), linkedin.com (96), reddit.com (90) and instagram.com (82). Google AI Mode cited YouTube in 27.4% of its answers.
Is Reddit still cited by AI in 2026?+
Rarely in ChatGPT: only 11 of 1,164 ChatGPT answers (0.9%) cited reddit.com, between 2 and 3 answers each week from September 7 to October 4, 2026. Google AI Overviews still cited Reddit in 12.1% of answers in the week of September 28, and Gemini and AI Mode stayed around 5%.
How many sources does each AI engine cite?+
On average per answer: Perplexity 17.4, Google AI Overviews 7.3, Gemini 5.6, ChatGPT 5.2 and Google AI Mode 3.7. Perplexity added a source to 100% of its answers, ChatGPT to 97.8%, AI Overviews to 89.3%, AI Mode to 80.9% and Gemini to 60.1%.
YouTube vs Reddit: which does AI search cite more?+
It depends on the engine. On Google's AI surfaces, YouTube wins by far: 45.0% of AI Overviews answers cite YouTube vs 10.4% for Reddit. In Perplexity and Gemini, Reddit leads, at 4.9% and 4.8% of answers vs 0.5% and 1.0% for YouTube. ChatGPT barely cites either: 0.0% for YouTube and 0.9% for Reddit.
How do I know which sources AI uses for my brand?+
Run the questions your buyers ask in each AI engine and record the sources each answer cites, engine by engine, since every engine relies on different domains. Howseen does this for you across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and Gemini, and shows whether your brand is among the sources.
See which sources AI cites in your niche, and whether you're one of them
Start with a free report on how AI answers your buyers' questions. Then track, engine by engine, which sources get cited.
