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AI answers about business software cite the vendor’s own website far more often than answers about consumer products do. Gist counted how often 9,539 AI answers to buying questions cite the site of a brand ranked in that category. The share is 68% across the 16 business software categories and 24% across the 16 consumer ones.
The same split shows in the single most-cited website. In 9 of the 16 business categories it is a vendor’s own site. In none of the 16 consumer categories is it. The counts also show a limit: some vendor sites are cited often in answers that rarely name the vendor.
Every assistant cites vendors more in business software
Share of each assistant’s answers that cite a ranked brand’s own website, percent
- Business software
- Consumer
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Perplexity
- Google AI Overviews
Source: The Gist 100, October 2026.
The gap holds across all four assistants
Every assistant cites a ranked brand’s own site more often in business software than in consumer categories. ChatGPT goes from 91% to 54%, a drop of 37 points. Google AI Overviews goes from 36% to 11%, a drop of 25 points. Claude falls from 73% to 21% and Perplexity from 73% to 9%, drops of 52 and 64 points. Perplexity’s figure is 0% in 13 of the 16 consumer categories. ChatGPT stands apart on the consumer side, where its 54% is 33 points above Claude’s 21%.
The split has exceptions. Rain jackets reach 62%, above five business categories. Even so, no business category falls below 41%, and 12 of the 16 consumer categories sit at 24% or lower. Spend management software is highest of all 32 categories at 96%, with all four assistants at 91% or higher.
A vendor’s own pages lead nine categories
In nine business categories, the most-cited website of all is a vendor’s own. PandaDoc’s site leads e-signature software at 70% of answers, Ramp’s leads spend management at 64% and Buffer’s leads social media management tools at 60%. Shopify, Gusto, Missive, Zendesk, Sequenzy and Cirrus Insight lead six more, from 54% down to 37%. In the other seven, a publisher leads in five and a review site in two. In consumer categories, a review site leads in 9 of 16, a publisher in 6 and a retailer in 1.
The pages behind this are mostly best-of guides. Of the 25 most-cited brand pages, PandaDoc’s page on the best electronic signature software leads with 167 answers. REI Co-op’s page on the best rain jackets follows at 153 and is the only consumer page. Three spend management pages come next, from Ramp (143), BILL (124) and Airwallex (122). By their addresses, 17 of the 25 have best or top in them, which points to a vendor’s own comparison of the best tools in its category. Shopify’s pricing page, cited in 55 answers, is the one entry that does not look like a guide.
Some vendors are cited but not named
Being cited is not the same as being named. The counts list 15 vendor-and-category pairs where the vendor’s site is cited in 24% to 45% of a category’s answers and the vendor is named in 13% or fewer. In 5 of the 15, the vendor is named in 0% of answers. Sequenzy, in email marketing platforms, and Cirrus Insight, in AI meeting notetakers, each have the most-cited website of all in their category. The answers name Sequenzy in 2% of cases and Cirrus Insight in 0%. For PandaDoc, Ramp and Buffer, citation and naming go together, with each named in at least 82% of answers.
Own site cited and vendor named, as a percent of answers in the category
| Vendor | Category | Own site cited | Vendor named |
|---|---|---|---|
| PandaDoc | E-signature software | 70% | 82% |
| Ramp | Spend management software | 64% | 98% |
| Buffer | Social media management tools | 60% | 86% |
| Emburse | Spend management software | 45% | 6% |
| Pin | Applicant tracking systems | 43% | 0% |
| Sequenzy | Email marketing platforms | 43% | 2% |
| Guideflow | Email management software | 40% | 0% |
| Cirrus Insight | AI meeting notetakers | 37% | 0% |
| Airwallex | Payment processing | 36% | 13% |
The assistants split here too. ChatGPT cites the vendor’s site in 0% of answers in 13 of the 15 pairs, while Claude cites it in more than half in 12. The answers point to a pattern that depends on the assistant. The counts do not say why.
What to do with this
- Find the pages the answers cite in your category. In 9 of 16 business categories a vendor’s own site is the most-cited website, so the leading page may be a rival’s. In consumer categories a review site leads in 9 of 16, so look there.
- Publish a best-of guide on your own domain if you sell business software. Of the 25 most-cited brand pages, 17 have best or top in the address, and PandaDoc’s is cited in 167 answers. A guide gives the answers a page of yours to cite. It does not ensure a mention.
- Track citations and mentions as separate numbers, assistant by assistant. Sequenzy’s site is cited in 43% of email marketing answers and the vendor is named in 2%. ChatGPT cites a ranked brand’s own site in 91% of business software answers and Google AI Overviews in 36%, so one assistant’s result says little about the others.
Counted from the answers behind the October 2026 Gist 100. How it is made.
Sources
- The Gist 100: how it is made. Gist GEO
Questions marketers ask
Does a cited vendor site mean the vendor is named in the answer?
No. The counts list 15 vendor-and-category pairs where the vendor’s site is cited in 24% to 45% of answers and the vendor is named in 13% or fewer. In 5 of the 15, the vendor is named in 0% of answers.
Which websites do AI answers cite most in consumer categories?
A review site is the most-cited website in 9 of the 16 consumer categories and a publisher in 6. A retailer leads in 1 category and a brand’s own site leads in none.