Are you optimising your content to be cited by AI search engines? If so, be careful not to back the wrong horse. Large-scale research by 5W Public Relations shows that only 11% of all cited domains overlap between ChatGPT and Perplexity. This means that a staggering 89% of the sources cited by AI models are specific to the platform in question.
Different AI systems, different preferences
Many marketers and entrepreneurs mistakenly assume that a single Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) strategy works across all AI assistants. The reality is that ChatGPT and Perplexity use entirely different criteria and source stacks:
- ChatGPT relies heavily on established authorities, encyclopaedic sources such as Wikipedia (responsible for almost half of the top citations), and major traditional news media.
- Perplexity, on the other hand, places immense value on recency and community-driven platforms. For instance, discussions on Reddit account for over 46% of top citations, supported by up-to-date articles under 30 days old.
So, if your brand is clearly visible in ChatGPT, that by no means implies Perplexity will recommend you to potential customers – and vice versa.
What does this mean for you?
To remain discoverable in the AI era, you need to adopt a differentiated GEO approach:
- Diversify your digital presence: Do not focus solely on your own website. Maintain an active presence on community platforms (such as Reddit and niche forums) for Perplexity, and build authority through well-known platforms and encyclopaedic listings for ChatGPT.
- Prioritise fresh content: Perplexity rewards fresh content up to three times more often than older pages. Keep your main landing pages and knowledge base articles up to date.
- Measure visibility separately for each platform: Stop measuring ‘generic AI visibility’. Analyse where your brand appears on an AI-by-AI basis. Visibility in ChatGPT requires a different PR and SEO tactic than discoverability in Perplexity or Google AI Overviews.
Source: Entrepreneur
