Ahrefs study — vendor-published
Ahrefs ranks the 50 most-cited domains across four AI surfaces
Ahrefs published July citation-share rankings of the most-cited websites in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity, tracked across US queries — a four-surface map of who the answer engines actually cite.
Top five most-cited in AI Overviews, by mention share:
- YouTube — 21.1%
- Reddit — 18.5%
- Facebook — 10.7%
- Google — 7.1%
- Instagram — 5.8%
The full 50 — and the separate AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity rankings — are at Ahrefs.
Why it matters: These are the category's reference numbers for who the answer engines actually trust.
The record: AhrefsGoogle AI OverviewsGoogle AI ModeGeminiPerplexityReddit
Glossary: Answer engineAI OverviewsAI Mode
Via Ahrefs Blog ↗
Posted to the wire July 22, 2026.