Perplexity Cites 2.8x More Sources Than ChatGPT, Only OpenAI Depends on Wikipedia

The biggest mistake in GEO: treating all AI providers the same.

We analyzed 118,101 AI-generated answers with 669,065 citations across 8 major providers during Q3 2025. The data reveals dramatic differences in how each platform selects, cites, and positions sources.

What works for ChatGPT will fail for Perplexity. Wikipedia strategy succeeds on OpenAI, fails everywhere else. Platform-specific optimization isn't optional - it's essential.

Our findings align with Princeton's GEO research showing platform-specific optimization is essential, and Search Engine Land's analysis confirming Wikipedia dominates ChatGPT citations.

This report quantifies exactly how different these providers are, and what that means for your GEO strategy.

The Citation Volume Spectrum: Not All AI Providers Cite Equally

Here's how much each provider relies on external sources:

The spread is massive: Perplexity cites 2.76x more sources per question than ChatGPT (21.87 vs 7.92).

What this means: A brand that appears in 10% of Perplexity responses might appear in only 3.6% of ChatGPT responses - not because their content is worse, but because the platforms have fundamentally different citation strategies.

Understanding the Metrics

Citations per question: How many sources the AI model references per answer. Higher numbers indicate the model relies more heavily on external sources.

Unique sources: Total distinct domains cited during the quarter. Indicates breadth of source discovery.

Diversity score: Shannon entropy normalized to 0-100. Higher scores mean citations are distributed across many sources rather than concentrated on a few.

Average position: Mean placement of citations in responses. Lower numbers (early positioning) typically correlate with higher authority.

The Wikipedia Dependency: Only One Provider Relies on It

Here's where conventional GEO wisdom breaks down completely.

Wikipedia citation rates by provider:

ChatGPT is 4.8% dependent on Wikipedia. Every other major provider: effectively 0%.

Why this is critical: The standard GEO advice - "get a Wikipedia page for AI visibility" - only works for one platform. If your target audience uses Perplexity, Gemini, or Google AI, Wikipedia presence provides minimal direct benefit.

What OpenAI Does Differently

OpenAI's top cited sources:

1. Wikipedia (4.8%)
2. Google.com (various properties)
3. Le Monde (major news)

Everyone else's top cited sources:

1. Specialized business/legal platforms
2. Industry-specific content sites
3. Regional authorities

The pattern: OpenAI uses Wikipedia as a knowledge foundation, then cites specialized sources. Other providers skip the encyclopedia layer entirely and go straight to specialized content.

Strategic implication: If you're optimizing for ChatGPT specifically, Wikipedia presence is valuable. For multi-provider GEO, specialized vertical content is non-negotiable.

Provider-by-Provider Deep Dive

Perplexity: The Citation Champion (21.87 cit/question)

Profile:

• Total citations: 276,139 across 12,623 questions
• Unique sources: 37,399 domains
• Diversity score: 79.8 (diverse, but less than Google)
• Average position: 5.66 (mid-response)
• Top sources: Specialized legal platforms, government portals

What Perplexity prioritizes:

• Specialized business and legal content
• French-language vertical-specific sites
• Practical, actionable information
• Recent, updated content

Why Perplexity cites so much: The platform's value proposition is comprehensive research. More citations = more thorough answers = differentiation from ChatGPT's concise responses.

Optimization strategy for Perplexity:

1. Create deep vertical content: Not 500-word blog posts, but comprehensive 3,000+ word guides
2. Structure for scanning: Perplexity pulls specific sections, so make each section independently valuable
3. Update frequently: Perplexity appears to favor recently updated content
4. Don't rely on Wikipedia: 0% Wikipedia share means this tactic is wasted effort

Success pattern: Leading legal platforms dominate Perplexity citations in the French legal vertical with comprehensive guides covering every aspect of business law formation, contracts, and compliance.

ChatGPT (OpenAI): The Wikipedia Dependent (7.92 cit/question)

Profile:

• Total citations: 190,894 across 24,099 questions
• Unique sources: 42,592 domains (highest breadth)
• Diversity score: 83.4
• Average position: 2.82 (very early)
• Top sources: Wikipedia, Google.com, Le Monde

What ChatGPT prioritizes:

• Encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia: 4.8%)
• Mainstream authoritative sites
• News outlets with editorial standards
• .edu domains

Why ChatGPT cites less: The model is trained to provide concise answers drawing primarily from training data, using citations mainly for verification and recent information.

Optimization strategy for ChatGPT:

1. Wikipedia presence is valuable - 4.8% share means thousands of potential citations
2. Aim for early positioning - Average position 2.82 means top-3 sources dominate
3. Mainstream credibility matters - News outlet coverage helps
4. Don't compete with specialized sites - ChatGPT prefers broad authority over niche expertise

Success pattern: Brands with well-maintained Wikipedia pages + mainstream press coverage get cited significantly more in ChatGPT than in other providers.

Google AI Overview: The Diverse Giant (17.93 cit/question)

Profile:

• Total citations: 79,565 across 4,439 questions
• Unique sources: 25,785 domains
• Diversity score: 89.4 (highest)
• Average position: 10.08 (latest)
• Top sources: Google.com, YouTube, LinkedIn

What Google AI Overview prioritizes:

• Google properties (own platforms)
• Video content (YouTube)
• Social platforms (LinkedIn)
• Diverse, multi-perspective sources

Why diversity is so high: Google AI Overview appears designed to show multiple perspectives, resulting in highly distributed citations rather than relying on a few authoritative sources.

Optimization strategy for Google AI Overview:

1. YouTube content is essential - Video platform is a top-3 source
2. Expect late positioning - Average 10.08 means citations appear throughout response
3. Don't expect dominance - High diversity means no single source gets significant share
4. Google properties matter - Citations from Google ecosystem get preferential treatment

Success pattern: Brands with strong YouTube presence + Google Business Profile + Maps reviews get cited more frequently in Google AI Overview.

Gemini: The Regional Specialist (17.11 cit/question)

Profile:

• Total citations: 122,251 across 7,145 questions
• Unique sources: 20,549 domains
• Diversity score: 77.0
• Average position: 4.67 (early)
• Top sources: French business blogs, specialized legal platforms

What Gemini prioritizes:

• Regional, French-language content
• Business and entrepreneurship resources
• Local service providers
• Practical implementation guides

Why Gemini favors regional content: Unlike other providers, Gemini shows clear preference for local-language, region-specific authorities over global English content.

Optimization strategy for Gemini:

1. Localization is critical - French content outperforms English translations
2. Regional authority matters - Being the #1 local source > #10 global source
3. Business focus wins - Entrepreneurship and SMB content gets prioritized
4. Early positioning possible - Average 4.67 means top-5 placements are achievable

Success pattern: French business blogs and legal service providers dominate Gemini citations despite having minimal global brand recognition.

Microsoft Copilot: The Selective Curator (2.47 cit/question)

Profile:

• Total citations: 148 across 60 questions
• Unique sources: 111 domains
• Diversity score: 97.0 (highest possible)
• Average position: 1.90 (earliest)
• Top sources: PCMag, Forbes, Rolling Stone

What Microsoft Copilot prioritizes:

• Tech and business news outlets
• Editorial content with analysis
• Established media brands
• Professional journalism

Why so few citations: Copilot integrates tightly with Microsoft 365 and appears to prioritize synthesized answers over extensive citation.

Optimization strategy for Microsoft Copilot:

1. Quality over quantity - Only 2-3 citations per response means each must be exceptional
2. Target position 1-2 - Average 1.90 means first citation dominates
3. Media coverage essential - Tech/business press gets cited, blogs don't
4. Editorial standards matter - Journalistic content preferred over marketing

Success pattern: Brands with coverage in Forbes, PCMag, TechCrunch get disproportionate citations despite Copilot's limited citation volume.

Platform-Specific GEO Strategy Matrix

If Your Audience Uses Primarily ChatGPT:

Priority tactics:

1. ✅ Get Wikipedia page (4.8% share)
2. ✅ Earn mainstream press coverage
3. ✅ Target early positioning (top 3 citations)
4. ✅ Build broad authority signals

Lower priority: 5. Niche vertical content (ChatGPT prefers mainstream) 6. Regional/local optimization (English/global focus) 7. High citation volume tactics (only 7.92 avg)

Measurement: Track citation position (aim for 1-3) more than citation volume.

If Your Audience Uses Primarily Perplexity:

Priority tactics:

1. ✅ Create comprehensive vertical content (21.87 cit/question = opportunity)
2. ✅ Structure for section extraction
3. ✅ Update content frequently
4. ✅ Cover all angles of your niche

Lower priority: 5. Wikipedia (0% share) 6. Mainstream press (not in top sources) 7. Early positioning obsession (mid-response is normal)

Measurement: Track citation volume (aim for multiple citations per response).

If Your Audience Uses Primarily Google AI Overview:

Priority tactics:

1. ✅ Build YouTube content library
2. ✅ Optimize Google Business Profile
3. ✅ Get verified on LinkedIn
4. ✅ Target Google properties

Lower priority: 5. Dominant citation share (diversity = multiple sources cited) 6. Early positioning (late citations normal) 7. Non-Google platforms

Measurement: Track citation frequency across Google ecosystem.

If Your Audience Uses Primarily Gemini:

Priority tactics:

1. ✅ Create French/local language content
2. ✅ Become regional authority in your vertical
3. ✅ Focus on business/entrepreneurship topics
4. ✅ Build local citations and mentions

Lower priority: 5. English-only content 6. Global positioning 7. Wikipedia (0% share)

Measurement: Track regional citation share vs. global competitors.

Multi-Provider Strategy: The Overlap

Most brands need visibility across multiple providers. Here's what works everywhere:

Universal tactics:

1. Comprehensive, structured content - Works for all providers
2. Niche authority - Specialized expertise beats generic content everywhere
3. Regular updates - All providers favor fresh information
4. Clear, scannable formatting - Essential for AI parsing

Provider-specific additions:

• ChatGPT: Add Wikipedia
• Perplexity: Add depth (3,000+ words)
• Google AI Overview: Add YouTube
• Gemini: Add localization
• Microsoft Copilot: Add press coverage

The wrong approach: Optimizing exclusively for one provider. Even if 70% of your audience uses ChatGPT, ignoring the 30% on Perplexity means missing significant opportunity.

Key Takeaway: One Size Does NOT Fit All

The data is unambiguous:

• Wikipedia strategy works for ChatGPT only (4.8% vs 0% elsewhere)
• Citation volume strategies work for Perplexity (21.87 cit/question) but not Copilot (2.47)
• YouTube optimization matters for Google but not ChatGPT
• Regional content wins on Gemini but underperforms on ChatGPT

The mistake most brands make: Following generic "GEO best practices" that assume all AI providers behave identically.

The winning approach: Platform-specific optimization based on where your audience actually uses AI, measured with provider-specific metrics.

If you're not tracking performance by provider, you're flying blind.

What's Next

This is part of our Q3 2025 research series on AI citation behavior.

Overview Studies:

• 184K Queries Analysis - Comprehensive LLM ranking factors study
• Query Fan-Out Study - Provider-specific search behavior patterns

Deep Dive Reports:

• #1: Source Analysis - 97.5% citations from specialized sites
• ✅ #2: Provider Comparison (this report)
• #3: Wikipedia & Reddit Effect - Platform presence impact
• #4: Source Types Impact - Authority hierarchy
• #5: Content Freshness - Dynamic citation landscape
• #6: Sentiment Analysis - How AI judges sources

Want provider-specific tracking? Qwairy monitors your brand across all major AI providers with platform-specific metrics and insights.

External validation:

Our findings are corroborated by multiple 2025 industry studies:

• Princeton GEO Research: Platform-specific optimization strategies differ significantly
• Visual Capitalist Market Report: ChatGPT dominates with 59.5-82.7% market share
• DemandSage AI Statistics: ChatGPT has 800M weekly active users
• StatCounter AI Market Share: Real-time platform usage data

Research powered by Qwairy - Track your brand's performance across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and 7 other AI platforms.