Study finds ChatGPT and AI Overviews cite different parts of social platforms
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.
The record: ChatGPTGoogle AI Overviews
Glossary: AI Overviews
Posted to the wire August 16, 2026.