# Study finds ChatGPT and AI Overviews cite different parts of social platforms

Published: 2026-08-16T20:37:57.296Z · Source: BrightEdge Blog (https://www.brightedge.com/resources/weekly-ai-search-insights/profiles-over-posts-chatgpt-google-ai-overviews)
Source date: 2026-08-13
Flags: BrightEdge study — vendor-published
Entities: chatgpt, ai-overviews

Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT cite different assets within the same social platforms, not just different domains, according to a BrightEdge analysis of five platforms across nine industries over twelve weekly observations from May 17 to August 2. Google favored posted content — 89% of its Instagram Reels citations and 53% of its Facebook video citations — while ChatGPT leaned toward profile and entity pages, including roughly 80% of its LinkedIn citations going to company or jobs pages, per the study, which used BrightEdge's own AI Hyper Cube and AI Catalyst tools.

Why it matters: Domain-level citation-share studies treat 'Reddit' or 'LinkedIn' as one bucket; this shows the two engines are pulling from structurally different parts of the same platforms, which changes what content within a domain is worth optimizing.

## What this answers

**Do ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews cite the same content on social platforms?**

No — BrightEdge found Google AI Overviews favors posted content (89% of its Instagram Reels citations, 53% of Facebook video citations) while ChatGPT favors profile and entity pages instead, such as roughly 80% of its LinkedIn citations going to company or jobs pages.


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