The Source Report

What Did the Latest Run Find?

Review and editorial sites are the largest source type on every engine that cited a source. In Run 6, on 8 October 2026, they made up between 40.5% of Perplexity's citations and 78.6% of ChatGPT's. Brand-owned sites took between 11.9% (ChatGPT) and 29.8% (Perplexity), and retailers took between 2.4% (ChatGPT) and 15.5% (Perplexity). Reddit, forums and video combined did not exceed 2.4% for any single engine. Gemini cited no sources in this run (Source: Firon Source Report, Run 6, 8 October 2026).

The engines also differ on whether they cite anything at all. Perplexity cited sources in all 20 of its answers. ChatGPT answered 45% of questions without a citation, Claude 40% and Gemini all 20. ChatGPT also showed 79 product cards and linked brand sites that it did not cite, nearly twice its 42 actual citations.

For a brand, the practical reading is that most of the evidence these engines point to when recommending products sits on other people's sites. In Firon's Three-Check Protocol, this is the Credibility check: in these answers, the engines pointed to independent review and editorial sites far more often than to brands' own sites. The same finding explains why Firon publishes this data at all, since original research is one of the few formats a brand controls that engines treat as citable evidence.

Where Does Your Brand Sit When AI Answers Your Category?

This report tracks which source types win across twenty generic shopping questions. It can't tell you where your own brand sits. Before a 30-minute walkthrough call, Firon builds a free AI Perception Report. We test ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity from a clean, logged-out session and show you which brands they recommend in your category and why. The report scores what each model gets right and wrong about you and sets today's answer beside the one you want. It also explains the structural reason for the gap and lists three prioritized fixes. You keep all of it whether or not you become a client.

See where AI ranks your brand in your category

How Does the Source Report Work?

The four engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.

The twenty questions. These stay the same in every run, which is what lets us compare one run with the next.

1. best organic baby clothes brands

2. where to buy luxury dinnerware online

3. best modern lighting brands for a living room

4. best nootropics for focus

5. best affordable automatic watches

6. best men's waxed canvas jacket

7. best running shoes for flat feet

8. best cookware set for a small kitchen

9. best skincare for sensitive skin

10. best coffee subscription

11. best pet food for a senior dog

12. best mattress for side sleepers

13. best home espresso machine under $1000

14. best sustainable activewear brands

15. best supplements for sleep

16. best leather weekender bag

17. best air purifier for allergies

18. best electrolyte drink

19. best desk chair for back pain

20. best gifts for someone who has everything

How we run each prompt. Every question goes into a brand-new chat, with no history, memory or personalisation carried over. We type it exactly as it appears above, and we never add brand names.

The six source types. Each cited site goes into one of these six groups:

Sometimes a page could fit two groups. When that happens, whoever owns the site decides it. So a retailer's own best-of guide counts as Retailer, even though it reads like a review. The same person sorts every citation, so the rules are applied the same way each run.

How we log citations.

• We log one row per cited site, so an answer that cites five sources becomes five rows.

• We only count sources the engine actually cites, not search results it showed without citing.

• Product cards and linked brand sites are shown, not cited. We count them separately and leave them out of the citation total. This rule started with Run 5.

• When an engine answers without citing anything, we log it as No citation. That isn't a source type, so we report it on its own, as a share of answers.

• If a question wasn't run, we log it as Not run. It never gets counted as No citation.

• Starting with Run 6 on 8 October 2026, we also note whether the engine ran a web search for each answer.

All percentages are worked out on citations only.

What Are the Limits of This Data?

This is 80 prompts a run: 20 questions across 4 engines. Treat it as directional, not a census. It shows which kinds of sources these engines lean on for these particular questions. It can't tell you about every buying question, every engine, or how often any single brand gets cited.

What the data does support is the direction. Review and editorial sources have been the largest group for every engine that cited anything, in all six runs so far, so that pattern doesn't rest on a single run. Gemini's citation counts are small (20 in Run 5, none in Run 6), so one citation can move its percentages by 5 points or more. Read its run-to-run swings loosely.

How Do the Four Engines Compare in the Latest Run?

Run 6, 8 October 2026. We show each engine on its own because they cite at very different rates. Each engine's source-type figures add up to 100% of its citations. No citation and Shown, not cited sit outside that total. Gemini cited no sources in Run 6, so it has no source-type figures.

How Have the Results Changed Across Every Run?

Each engine has its own history, for the same reason as the latest run: combined, the engine that cites the most would drive the trend. Every run is here, including the runs where not much moved.

How Has ChatGPT's Citation Mix Changed?

One question wasn't run in Run 1 and one in Run 2.

How Has Claude's Citation Mix Changed?

How Has Gemini's Citation Mix Changed?

One question wasn't run in Run 1, three in Run 2 and one in Run 3. Run 4 includes 5 answers that were re-run on 29 September 2026 with the same wording.

From Run 3, Gemini answered far more questions without citing anything: 15 of 17 answers had citations in Run 2, then 6 of 19 in Run 3, 6 of 20 in Runs 4 and 5, and none of 20 in Run 6. Re-running five Run 4 questions on 29 September gave the same result. We've confirmed nothing changed in how we run Gemini, so the drop isn't coming from our method. Run 6 was the first run to log searches, and Gemini searched on only 1 of its 20 answers.

How Has Perplexity's Citation Mix Changed?

One question wasn't run in Run 1.

Notes on the history. Run 5 figures come from a re-run on 1 October 2026 with the same wording. The first capture on 30 September was set aside. Product cards were first logged separately in Run 5. Runs 1 to 4 were logged before that rule, so some product cards may be counted there as citations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which sources do AI engines cite most when shoppers ask what to buy?

In Firon's Source Report, independent review and editorial sites are the largest source type on every engine that cites sources. In Run 6 on 8 October 2026, they made up 78.6% of ChatGPT's citations, 65.2% of Claude's and 40.5% of Perplexity's. Gemini cited no sources in that run. Brand-owned sites ranged from 11.9% on ChatGPT to 29.8% on Perplexity, and retailers from 2.4% to 15.5%. Review and editorial sources have been the largest group for every engine that cited anything, in every run since tracking began on 4 September 2026.

How often do ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity cite sources in shopping answers?

It varies sharply by engine. In Run 6, Perplexity cited at least one source in all 20 answers. ChatGPT answered 45% of questions without a citation, Claude 40% and Gemini all 20. Citation volume differed too: Perplexity logged 84 citations, Claude 69, ChatGPT 42 and Gemini none. That is why the Source Report shows each engine separately. Combined, the figures would let Perplexity, which cites the most, drive the overall picture and hide how differently the other three engines behave.

Why does Gemini answer so many shopping questions without citing sources?

In most of these answers, it doesn't search at all. Gemini cited sources in 15 of 17 answers in Run 2, then in only 6 of 19 in Run 3, 6 of 20 in Runs 4 and 5, and none of 20 in Run 6. Re-running five Run 4 questions on 29 September 2026 with the same wording gave the same result, and we've confirmed nothing changed in how we run Gemini. Run 6 on 8 October 2026 was the first run to log whether each engine ran a web search, and Gemini searched on only 1 of its 20 answers. We don't yet know why it stopped searching.

Does Reddit matter for AI shopping recommendations?

In the Source Report's question set, less than many marketers expect. In Run 6, Reddit and forums made up 2.4% of ChatGPT's citations and none of Claude's or Perplexity's. Across Runs 1 to 4, Claude cited 355 sources and none were Reddit or forums. Studies that use different questions, categories and samples can find more, so treat Reddit's importance as dependent on your category, not as universally high or universally irrelevant.

What is the difference between a cited source and a product card in an AI answer?

A cited source is a page the engine references as evidence for its answer. A product card or linked brand site is shown in the answer but not cited as a source. From Run 5, the Source Report counts these separately and leaves them out of the citation total. The difference is large for ChatGPT, which showed 79 product cards or linked brand sites in Run 6 against 42 citations. Runs 1 to 4 were logged before this rule, so some product cards may be counted there as citations.

How can a brand get cited more often in AI shopping answers?

Review and editorial sites dominate citations in every run. For most brands, the most direct path is earning coverage from the independent publishers, niche blogs and gift guides that engines already cite in their category. A brand's own site still matters, since brand-owned pages made up between 11.9% (ChatGPT) and 29.8% (Perplexity) of citations in Run 6. Which publishers count differs by category and engine, so the first step is finding out who gets cited when your buyers ask their questions.

Disclaimer: Firon Marketing is a strategic consultancy. All technical implementations should be reviewed by your engineering team to ensure compatibility with your specific tech stack.

What Is AI Telling Buyers About Your Brand Right Now?

Twenty generic questions show the pattern. Your category shows the stakes. Book a 30-minute walkthrough and Firon will build your AI Perception Report before the call. The report covers what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity say about your brand and your competitors from a clean session, where you rank on the AI leaderboard, what each model gets wrong, the answer you should be getting, and three prioritized fixes. You keep the full report whether or not we work together.

Book your free AI Perception Report

Alexander Jordan

Founder, Firon Marketing

15+ years scaling brands. A strategic partner for high-growth founders, focused on sustainable revenue models and long-term equity value.