Semrush: ChatGPT leans on news sites more than any other AI platform
Semrush, which Adobe owns, published its 2026 AI Visibility Index, saying it ran 2.5 million UK prompts and 25 million US prompts each month across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, covering January to July 2026 and 22 industry categories. It found news and information sites took an average 29.5% of citations among ChatGPT's 100 most-cited UK domains and 19.6% in the US, rising month by month from January to July and ahead of Gemini, AI Mode and AI Overviews. The study also found being mentioned is not the same as being cited as a source — fewer than half of top-100 mentioned brands also appeared among top-100 cited domains — while Google's AI Overviews cited medical reference sites more than rivals and video streaming sites led by YouTube took the largest citation share there.
It maps how AI assistants choose their sources, shaping publisher traffic and the fast-growing market for tracking brand visibility in AI answers.