Most Cited Domains in LLMs

Key Takeaways

1. ChatGPT Citations Are In Flux: The September 2025 shift has dramatically altered citation patterns, favoring professional publishers over crowdsourced content

2. LinkedIn Is the Cross-Platform Champion: Appears strongly on all major AI platforms and continues gaining citations

3. 95% of Citations Come From Outside Top 10: Massive opportunity exists beyond the dominant players—don't ignore mid-authority domains

4. Platform-Specific Strategy Is Essential: Each AI platform has distinct citation preferences requiring tailored approaches

5. Professional Content Is Rising: Forbes, LinkedIn, and professionally produced content are gaining at Reddit's expense

6. Video Content Provides Unique Advantages: YouTube's citation strength suggests multimedia strategy importance

7. Authority Correlates With Citations: Sites with 32,000+ backlinks are 3.5x more likely to be cited—authority building remains fundamental

8. Monitoring Enables Optimization: Comprehensive citation tracking is essential for data-driven AI visibility strategy

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered information retrieval, understanding which domains dominate LLM citations has become essential intelligence for any brand seeking visibility in the AI era. The question isn't merely academic: knowing which sources AI systems trust and cite provides the strategic blueprint for positioning your own content within these powerful new information conduits.

The landmark Semrush study examining 230,000 prompts across 100 million+ AI citations over a 13-week period has delivered unprecedented visibility into the domains that shape what billions of users learn from AI assistants every day <citation>[42]</citation>. Combined with additional research from Liner, Similarweb, and other platforms, we now possess a comprehensive picture of AI citation patterns that should inform every brand's content and SEO strategy.

This analysis goes beyond simply listing the most-cited domains. We'll examine the dramatic shifts in citation patterns, the platform-specific factors driving these changes, the strategic implications for businesses, and the actionable steps you can take to position your brand among AI's most-cited sources.

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The Big Picture: AI Citation Landscape Overview

Key Findings from the Research

The data reveals a landscape characterized by both remarkable concentration and unexpected volatility:

Citation Concentration: Despite the vastness of the internet, a relatively small number of domains capture the majority of AI citations. Wikipedia and Reddit alone historically dominated ChatGPT citations, together accounting for 70-80% of responses in certain query categories <citation>[42]</citation>.

The September 2025 Shift: Perhaps the most significant finding is the dramatic citation collapse that occurred in mid-September 2025 on ChatGPT:

• Reddit citations dropped from approximately 60% to 10% of responses
• Wikipedia citations fell from approximately 55% to less than 20%
• These declines were isolated to ChatGPT—AI Mode and Perplexity remained relatively stable

Platform Divergence: Each major AI platform exhibits distinct citation preferences, reflecting their different architectures, partnerships, and user expectations:

• Wikipedia and Reddit dominate traditional models but face declining influence
• LinkedIn has emerged as the most consistent cross-platform citation winner
• Forbes and other professional publishers show strong growth trajectories

Source Diversity Surprises: Research confirms that 95% of AI citations come from domains outside the top 10 <citation>[49]</citation>. This means significant citation opportunities exist beyond the dominant players—opportunities that most optimization strategies are ignoring.

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Platform-by-Platform Citation Analysis

ChatGPT: The Platform in Flux

ChatGPT's citation patterns have undergone the most dramatic transformation of any major AI platform. The September 2025 shift has fundamentally altered the citation landscape <citation>[42]</citation>.

Top 5 Most Cited Domains (ChatGPT):

Rank	Domain	Post-September Trend
1	Wikipedia	Declining but still significant
2	Reddit	Major decline (~60% to ~10%)
3	Medium	Growing
4	Forbes	Strong growth (doubled citations)
5	LinkedIn	Steady growth

The Wikipedia Decline: Despite dropping from ~55% to less than 20% of citations, Wikipedia remains ChatGPT's most-cited domain. This decline appears tied to OpenAI's efforts to reduce reliance on crowdsourced content and emphasize more authoritative sources.

The Reddit Collapse: The Reddit citation drop from approximately 60% to 10% represents one of the most dramatic shifts in AI citation history. This appears related to OpenAI's content licensing agreements and strategic shift toward professionally produced content.

The Forbes and LinkedIn Surge: Professional publishers and professional networks have emerged as major beneficiaries of ChatGPT's strategic shift:

• Forbes doubled its citations after September 2025
• LinkedIn gained citations corresponding to Reddit's losses
• PR Newswire saw the biggest citation gains among news sources

Implications for ChatGPT Strategy:

• Professional and business content is increasingly valued
• Long-form, well-edited publications outperform social discussions
• Author attribution and editorial credibility matter more
• Thin, crowdsourced content has declining value

Perplexity: The Community Champion

Perplexity AI maintains distinct priorities, with community and review content remaining central to its citation approach <citation>[31]</citation>.

Top 10 Most Cited Domains (Perplexity):

Rank	Domain	Citation Share	Content Type
1	Reddit	6.6%	User discussions
2	YouTube	2.0%	Video transcriptions
3	Gartner	1.0%	Business research
4	LinkedIn	0.8%	Professional content
5	Yelp	0.8%	Business reviews
6	Forbes	0.7%	Business journalism
7	G2	0.6%	Product reviews
8	NerdWallet	0.6%	Financial reviews
9	TripAdvisor	0.6%	Travel reviews
10	PCMag	0.5%	Technology reviews

Key Insights for Perplexity:

• Reddit maintains its dominant position despite ChatGPT's retreat
• Review platforms (Yelp, G2, TripAdvisor, NerdWallet) are significant
• YouTube citations through video transcription are substantial
• Business research from Gartner has strong presence

Google AI Mode: The Ecosystem Play

Google AI Mode privileges Google's owned properties and platforms, creating unique citation dynamics <citation>[31]</citation>.

Top 5 Most Cited Domains (AI Mode):

Rank	Domain	Notable Characteristics
1	LinkedIn	Strongest cross-platform citation presence
2	YouTube	Video content heavily favored
3	Reddit	Consistent community content value
4	Google	Various Google properties
5	Google Blog	Official Google content

The LinkedIn Dominance: LinkedIn's #1 position on AI Mode reflects both content quality and ecosystem alignment with Google's priorities. LinkedIn appears in approximately 15% of AI Mode responses, making it the single most-cited domain on this platform <citation>[42]</citation>.

YouTube's Strategic Importance: Video content transcriptions contribute significantly to YouTube's citation strength, highlighting the importance of multimedia content across AI platforms.

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Comprehensive Cross-Platform Analysis

The Rising Stars: Domains Gaining Citations

Several domains have emerged as consistent gainers across AI platforms:

LinkedIn has become the most reliable cross-platform citation vehicle:

• Gains on all major AI platforms after September 2025
• Captures citations lost by Reddit on ChatGPT
• Strongest presence on AI Mode (#1 position)
• Professional content increasingly valued across contexts

Forbes has demonstrated exceptional citation growth:

• Doubled citations on ChatGPT after September
• Positive trajectory across all platforms
• Professional journalism valued for authoritative responses

YouTube maintains substantial citation presence:

• Second most-cited domain on Perplexity
• Top 2 position on AI Mode
• Video transcription provides unique citation advantages

The Declining Giants: Domains Losing Ground

Reddit presents a cautionary tale:

• Massive citation collapse on ChatGPT (60% to 10%)
• Remains stable on Perplexity and AI Mode
• Demonstrates platform-specific risk in AI optimization
• Quality concerns may be driving strategic deprioritization

Wikipedia shows declining influence:

• Dropped from ~55% to ~20% on ChatGPT
• Still significant but declining trajectory
• Crowdsourced content increasingly devalued
• Exception: Maintains presence on Perplexity

TechRadar has seen notable citation declines on ChatGPT, reflecting broader shifts away from tech-focused crowdsourced content <citation>[42]</citation>.

The 95% Opportunity: Beyond the Top 10

Perhaps the most strategically important finding is that 95% of AI citations come from domains outside the top 10 <citation>[49]</citation>. This statistic has profound implications:

Democratized Opportunity: While concentrated domains capture significant attention, the long tail of AI citations remains substantial.

Niche Authority Matters: Domains with deep expertise in specific verticals can capture significant citations within their domains despite lower overall authority.

Quality Beats Popularity: Well-optimized content on mid-authority domains can outperform poorly positioned content on high-citation giants.

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Understanding the Factors Behind Citation Patterns

Why Some Domains Dominate

1. Content Licensing Agreements

OpenAI and other AI companies have established content licensing agreements with major publishers. Forbes, The Associated Press, and other licensed partners receive preferential treatment in citation algorithms <citation>[31]</citation>.

2. Training Data Footprint

Domains with large training data representation (Wikipedia, Reddit) initially dominated because they were extensively included in LLM training. However, over-reliance on training data has given way to more dynamic, retrieval-based approaches.

3. Authority and Trust Signals

AI systems increasingly weight E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) in source selection. Professional publishers and authoritative platforms score higher on these metrics <citation>[14]</citation>.

4. Content Structure and Extractability

Domains that structure content for easy extraction—clear headings, FAQ formats, comprehensive structured data—receive citation preference. YouTube's video transcription access provides a structural advantage.

5. Update Frequency and Freshness

AI systems favor sources that maintain current information. Regularly updated content (news sites, blogs) may receive freshness bonuses in citation selection.

The Platform-Specific Factor

Different AI platforms have fundamentally different architectures and priorities:

ChatGPT (OpenAI): Emphasizes authoritative, professionally produced content. Licensing agreements and editorial quality are primary factors.

Perplexity: Values community perspectives and real-time discussions. Reddit citations remain strong due to query-type alignment.

AI Mode (Google): Ecosystem alignment drives citations. LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google properties receive preferential treatment.

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Strategic Implications for Your AI Visibility

Immediate Actions

1. LinkedIn Optimization

With LinkedIn's cross-platform dominance, professional content strategy should be a priority:

• Publish long-form articles and posts
• Optimize company page presence
• Build employee advocacy programs
• Create shareable professional insights

2. Forbes and Publisher Relationships

Consider contributing to or licensing content with major publishers:

• Explore guest contribution opportunities
• Pursue professional publication partnerships
• Develop data and research for media distribution

3. YouTube Content Strategy

Video content provides unique citation advantages:

• Create searchable, transcribable video content
• Optimize video titles and descriptions for AI indexing
• Focus on how-to and tutorial content
• Include comprehensive video metadata

4. Structured Data Implementation

Make your content AI-readable:

• Implement FAQ schema on key pages
• Use comprehensive article markup
• Ensure clean HTML structure
• Validate structured data regularly

Medium-Term Strategy

5. Review Platform Presence

Maintain accurate presence on review platforms important to Perplexity:

• Yelp business listings
• G2 product profiles
• TripAdvisor presence
• NerdWallet financial product coverage

6. Authority Building

Invest in the backlink profiles that drive AI citations:

• Quality over quantity in link building
• Diversified link sources
• Industry-specific authority building
• Earned media and PR

7. Content Format Optimization

Format content for AI extraction:

• Direct question-answer structures
• FAQ and HowTo content types
• Comprehensive, self-contained answers
• Clear heading hierarchies

Long-Term Positioning

8. Multi-Platform Presence

Avoid over-reliance on any single platform:

• Diversify across LinkedIn, Medium, industry publications
• Build presence on Reddit communities (authentically)
• Develop YouTube channel strategy
• Maintain professional publisher relationships

9. Authority Specialization

Become the authoritative source in your vertical:

• Deep, comprehensive content on specific topics
• Original research and data
• Expert contributor programs
• Industry recognition and awards

10. Continuous Monitoring

AI citation patterns evolve rapidly:

• Monitor platform-specific changes
• Track your citation performance
• Analyze competitor citation strategies
• Adapt to emerging platforms and patterns

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The Role of Dagneo AI in Citation Intelligence

Understanding which domains dominate AI citations is strategic intelligence—but acting on that intelligence requires comprehensive visibility into your own citation performance.

Dagneo AI provides the citation intelligence platform that makes AI visibility actionable:

• Cross-Platform Citation Monitoring: Track how your brand is cited across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Mode, and emerging platforms
• Competitive Citation Analysis: Understand which domains competitors are leveraging for AI visibility
• Domain Performance Insights: See how different domains and content types perform for your brand
• Opportunity Identification: Discover underserved topics where authoritative content can capture citations
• Trend Monitoring: Track the rapidly evolving citation patterns and platform changes

With Dagneo AI, you gain the visibility intelligence to execute data-driven citation strategies based on real performance data rather than guesswork.

Deep Dive: Specialized Domain Analysis

Wikipedia's Strategic Position

Wikipedia remains the most-cited domain on ChatGPT despite dramatic declines. Understanding why:

Structural Advantages:

• Comprehensive topic coverage
• Consistent formatting and structure
• Cross-referenced entity relationships
• Regular updates from community
• Clean, readable prose

Strategic Limitations:

• Anonymity of contributors
• Potential for vandalism
• Generalist rather than specialist focus
• Limited depth on complex topics

Implications for Content Strategy:

• Wikipedia's structure provides a template for AI-optimized content
• Proprietary expertise fills gaps Wikipedia cannot cover
• Subject matter expertise can outperform Wikipedia's general coverage

Reddit's Platform-Specific Value

Reddit's divergent citation patterns across platforms reveal important lessons:

ChatGPT Retreat:

• Quality control concerns
• Licensing agreement shifts
• Preference for editorial content
• Anonymity and verification challenges

Perplexity and AI Mode Stability:

• Community discussion value for research queries
• Real-time user experiences and opinions
• Authentic perspectives vs. polished content
• Diverse community voices

Strategic Implications:

• Reddit remains valuable for community engagement
• Platform-specific optimization is essential
• Authentic participation may yield better results than marketing

The Review Platform Ecosystem

Yelp, G2, TripAdvisor, and NerdWallet maintain significant citation presence, particularly on Perplexity:

Why Reviews Matter to AI:

• User-generated authenticity
• Specific product and service details
• Comparative assessments
• Real-world usage experiences

Optimizing for Review Citations:

• Claim and optimize business listings
• Encourage authentic customer reviews
• Respond professionally to all reviews
• Maintain accurate business information

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Looking Forward: Citation Trends to Watch

Emerging Patterns

1. Professional Content Ascendance

The September 2025 shift signals a broader trend toward professionally produced content. Expect continued decline of crowdsourced sources on platforms like ChatGPT.

2. Multimodal Content Value

Video content citations (primarily through YouTube) suggest growing importance of multimedia. AI systems are becoming increasingly capable of processing and citing video content.

3. Licensing and Partnership Effects

Content licensing agreements are reshaping the citation landscape. Watch for new partnerships that could shift citation patterns dramatically.

4. Platform-Specific Optimization

The divergence between platforms suggests that one-size-fits-all strategies are inadequate. Platform-specific optimization will become increasingly important.

5. Real-Time Citation Dynamics

AI systems are moving toward more dynamic, retrieval-based citations that can access current information. This will favor sources that update frequently and maintain real-time presence.

Preparing for the Future

Monitor Platform Evolution: AI platforms are actively evolving their citation algorithms. Stay informed about changes.

Diversify Your Presence: Don't over-rely on any single platform or citation source.

Build Authentic Authority: Focus on genuine expertise and authoritative content rather than gaming algorithms.

Invest in Multimedia: Video and other multimedia content provides unique citation advantages.

Maintain Agility: Be prepared to adapt strategies as citation patterns continue to evolve.

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Conclusion: From Intelligence to Action

The data on most-cited domains in LLMs provides essential strategic intelligence for any brand seeking AI visibility. But intelligence without action is meaningless. The key takeaways from this analysis demand response:

LinkedIn Dominance Is Real: Build professional content presence across LinkedIn and similar platforms.

Professional Publishers Are Rising: Forbes and similar outlets are gaining citations—consider how your brand can appear there.

Video Content Provides Advantages: YouTube's citation presence signals multimedia's growing importance.

Platform Strategy Is Essential: Each AI platform requires tailored approaches based on distinct citation preferences.

The 95% Opportunity Exists: Despite concentrated citations, significant opportunities exist outside the top 10.

The AI citation landscape is not static—it's actively evolving. The brands that will thrive are those that understand these patterns and act decisively on the intelligence they provide.

Your competitive advantage in the AI era isn't just about creating good content—it's about creating the right content, in the right formats, on the right platforms, with the right signals. The data reveals the path. The question is whether you'll follow it.

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• ChatGPT Visibility Trackers
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• How to Rank on ChatGPT
• Perplexity SEO Strategy
• AI Search Visibility Tracking