A new Search Engine Land analysis of almost 8,000 AI citations reveals significant differences in how major AI platforms utilize user-generated content (UGC) when formulating responses, creating new considerations for digital marketing strategies.
Google Engines Embrace UGC While Others Remain Cautious
Research from Rankscale.ai cited in the analysis indicates Google’s AI products show the strongest appetite for user-generated content among major AI systems. Google AI Overviews incorporates community content from forums and social media for approximately 4% of its citations, with Reddit emerging as its single most-cited website. Quora also appears frequently in its source lists.
Image source: Search Engine Land
Google’s Gemini demonstrates similar patterns, with UGC accounting for about 2% of its citations.
In contrast, ChatGPT almost entirely avoids user-generated content, with UGC representing less than 0.5% of its citations. The platform instead relies heavily on established sources, with Wikipedia comprising 27% of citations, followed by major news outlets.
Perplexity AI takes a middle ground, selectively incorporating UGC for approximately 1% of its citations, adjusting its approach based on the specific topic or industry.
Community Content Gains Prominence in Consumer Queries
The research shows UGC plays a particularly significant role in B2C queries like “best smartphone brands” or “top airlines.” For these consumer-focused topics, AI engines frequently pull from user reviews and community discussions on platforms like Reddit, Quora, Consumer Reports, and TripAdvisor.
This pattern blends expert opinions with crowd sentiment, reflecting the importance of peer feedback in consumer purchase decisions. The study notes that for B2C queries, official company sites or blogs are rarely cited, appearing in less than 4% of responses.
In contrast, B2B queries show minimal UGC utilization, with AI engines prioritizing expert content, vendor information, and data-driven rankings from industry publications and analyst reports.
Image source: Search Engine Land
LinkedIn Emerges as Professional UGC Source
The research identifies LinkedIn articles as the fourth most cited source in Google AI Overviews, highlighting the platform’s growing importance as a professional UGC channel. LinkedIn posts and articles account for approximately 2% of citations for B2B queries across the analyzed AI engines.
This finding suggests LinkedIn’s dual role as both a social network and a content platform may offer strategic opportunities for brands seeking visibility in AI-generated responses to professional queries.
Takeaways for Digital Marketing
The analysis suggests effective AI visibility strategies require understanding each engine’s unique relationship with user-generated content, rather than applying a universal approach across all platforms.
Despite the emergence of these new patterns, the research emphasizes that broad web visibility and strong organic search presence remain foundational for AI citations. Brands with high visibility scores are frequently cited because they dominate conversations across high-quality third-party sites.
The findings indicate AI optimization functions as an outcome of excellent SEO fundamentals rather than a separate discipline, with AI citations largely mirroring overall web authority.
A new Search Engine Land analysis of almost 8,000 AI citations reveals significant differences in how major AI platforms utilize user-generated content (UGC) when formulating responses, creating new considerations for digital marketing strategies.
Google Engines Embrace UGC While Others Remain Cautious
Research from Rankscale.ai cited in the analysis indicates Google’s AI products show the strongest appetite for user-generated content among major AI systems. Google AI Overviews incorporates community content from forums and social media for approximately 4% of its citations, with Reddit emerging as its single most-cited website. Quora also appears frequently in its source lists.
Image source: Search Engine Land
Google’s Gemini demonstrates similar patterns, with UGC accounting for about 2% of its citations.
In contrast, ChatGPT almost entirely avoids user-generated content, with UGC representing less than 0.5% of its citations. The platform instead relies heavily on established sources, with Wikipedia comprising 27% of citations, followed by major news outlets.
Perplexity AI takes a middle ground, selectively incorporating UGC for approximately 1% of its citations, adjusting its approach based on the specific topic or industry.
Community Content Gains Prominence in Consumer Queries
The research shows UGC plays a particularly significant role in B2C queries like “best smartphone brands” or “top airlines.” For these consumer-focused topics, AI engines frequently pull from user reviews and community discussions on platforms like Reddit, Quora, Consumer Reports, and TripAdvisor.
This pattern blends expert opinions with crowd sentiment, reflecting the importance of peer feedback in consumer purchase decisions. The study notes that for B2C queries, official company sites or blogs are rarely cited, appearing in less than 4% of responses.
In contrast, B2B queries show minimal UGC utilization, with AI engines prioritizing expert content, vendor information, and data-driven rankings from industry publications and analyst reports.
Image source: Search Engine Land
LinkedIn Emerges as Professional UGC Source
The research identifies LinkedIn articles as the fourth most cited source in Google AI Overviews, highlighting the platform’s growing importance as a professional UGC channel. LinkedIn posts and articles account for approximately 2% of citations for B2B queries across the analyzed AI engines.
This finding suggests LinkedIn’s dual role as both a social network and a content platform may offer strategic opportunities for brands seeking visibility in AI-generated responses to professional queries.
Takeaways for Digital Marketing
The analysis suggests effective AI visibility strategies require understanding each engine’s unique relationship with user-generated content, rather than applying a universal approach across all platforms.
Despite the emergence of these new patterns, the research emphasizes that broad web visibility and strong organic search presence remain foundational for AI citations. Brands with high visibility scores are frequently cited because they dominate conversations across high-quality third-party sites.
The findings indicate AI optimization functions as an outcome of excellent SEO fundamentals rather than a separate discipline, with AI citations largely mirroring overall web authority.
Read the full analysis here.