{
 "dataset": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/#dataset",
 "licence": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/terms/",
 "cite_as": "GEO Compass, We Communications (wegeocompass.com)",
 "generated": "2026-11-07T13:32:51+00:00",
 "totals": {
  "answers": 1176321,
  "studies": 211,
  "categories": 11,
  "markets": 24,
  "languages": 21,
  "engines": 11,
  "domains": 212995,
  "source_rows": 7984674,
  "brand_mentions": 1915939,
  "prompts": 7522,
  "date_from": "2025-08-18",
  "date_to": "2026-11-06",
  "brands": 72920,
  "brands_5plus": 20941,
  "brands_10plus": 12912,
  "brand_full_studies": 21,
  "brand_tracked_studies": 186
 },
 "headline": [
  {
   "title": "Almost all AI answers now consult live web data",
   "finding": "On a fixed panel of long-running studies, the share of ChatGPT answers that ran a live web search rose from 35% in September 2025 to 99.5% in August 2026. Gemini went from 15% to 83%. What sits on the open web, and who it credits, now shapes almost every answer.",
   "stat": "99.5%",
   "stat_label": "of ChatGPT answers used live web search in Aug 2026",
   "tag": "Trend"
  },
  {
   "title": "Brand websites are cited more than earned, social, and institutional sources",
   "finding": "Company and brand websites supply 32% of the distinct domains AI engines cite, and 82% of answers with sources cite at least one. The other 68% is earned media (21%), academic and institutional sources (15%), social platforms (8%) and a long tail of reference, government and marketplace sites.",
   "stat": "32%",
   "stat_label": "of citations come from brand and corporate websites",
   "tag": "Sources"
  },
  {
   "title": "When brands are named in prompts, their website is cited in 70% of answers. For unbranded prompts, this drops to 13%.",
   "finding": "In unbranded questions the focus brand is named in 28% of answers, but its own website is cited in only 13% of the answers that list sources. When the question names the brand, own-site citation jumps to 70%. Most category discovery happens on other people’s pages.",
   "stat": "70% vs 13%",
   "stat_label": "of answers cite the brand’s own site: branded vs unbranded prompts",
   "tag": "Branded vs. Unbranded"
  },
  {
   "title": "Reddit’s share of the answer is shrinking",
   "finding": "Across a fixed panel of studies tracked since September 2025, the share of answers retrieving Reddit fell from 27.6% to 6.5% by October 2026, and YouTube from 28.7% to 13.1%. LinkedIn climbed from almost zero to 3.2% in August before slipping back to 1.9%. Community content still matters, but engines are leaning on it less every quarter.",
   "stat": "27.6% → 6.5%",
   "stat_label": "answers retrieving Reddit, Sep 2025 → Oct 2026",
   "tag": "Trend"
  },
  {
   "title": "Google AI Overviews runs on YouTube",
   "finding": "YouTube appears in 39% of Google AI Overviews answers with sources, and in 40–47% of them each month since July. Google AI Mode leaned on it almost as much until it cut its sources in late August 2026, falling from 45% to 16% by October. On ChatGPT it is 3%, on Gemini 4% and on Claude about 1%.",
   "stat": "39%",
   "stat_label": "of Google AI Overviews answers cite YouTube",
   "tag": "Engines"
  },
  {
   "title": "Shopping modules surged, then cooled",
   "finding": "On a fixed panel, ChatGPT attached shopping or product modules to 71% of answers in August 2026, up from 32% a year earlier, before easing to 58% in October. Google AI Mode went from none to 44% in July and AI Overviews to 35% by September, and both settled near 31% in October. ChatGPT showed ads in about 12% of answers in July and August 2026; none have been detected on the panel since September.",
   "stat": "71% → 58%",
   "stat_label": "of ChatGPT answers carried shopping modules, Aug → Oct 2026",
   "tag": "Trend"
  }
 ],
 "branded": [
  {
   "title": "Branded questions narrow the source set",
   "finding": "Answers to questions that name a brand cite 6.2 distinct domains on average, against 8.3 for unbranded questions. The brand’s own website is cited in 70% of those answers, which makes owned pages the default fact base once a buyer knows your name.",
   "stat": "70%",
   "stat_label": "of branded answers cite the brand’s own site",
   "tag": "Branded vs. Unbranded"
  },
  {
   "title": "Reputation is decided off-site",
   "finding": "Even in branded answers, earned media makes up 24% of citations (20% for unbranded) and social and community platforms 10% (7%). Wikipedia appears in 8% of branded answers against 5% of unbranded. What others publish about a brand travels into its own branded answers.",
   "stat": "24%",
   "stat_label": "of branded-answer citations are earned media",
   "tag": "Branded vs. Unbranded"
  },
  {
   "title": "Negative framing concentrates in trust and health questions",
   "finding": "Across the dataset, 5% of answers that discuss brands frame them negatively. That rises to 10.3% for brand trust and reputation questions and 15.7% for health and medical questions, against 2.6% for recommendation questions.",
   "stat": "10.3%",
   "stat_label": "of brand-trust answers frame brands negatively",
   "tag": "Tone"
  }
 ],
 "engines": [
  {
   "title": "Google AI Mode cut its sources by two-thirds",
   "finding": "In the last week of August 2026, Google AI Mode went from about 14 distinct domains per answer to about 4, and it has stayed there into November. It shows up in the same week across studies tracked on two independent platforms, so it reflects a change in Google’s product rather than in measurement. In October AI Mode averaged 3.7 sources per answer, against 7.7 for Perplexity, 7.5 for ChatGPT and 6.4 for Google AI Overviews; only Gemini (3.2) cites fewer. Each remaining AI Mode citation now carries far more weight.",
   "stat": "14 → 4",
   "stat_label": "sources per Google AI Mode answer, before and after late August 2026",
   "tag": "Engines"
  },
  {
   "title": "Each engine has its favourite platforms",
   "finding": "YouTube leads on Google AI Overviews, and LinkedIn shows up in 13% of Perplexity answers and 12% of AI Mode answers. The OpenAI API cites Wikipedia in 22% of answers, against 7% for the ChatGPT app. Claude almost never cites Reddit or YouTube.",
   "stat": "22%",
   "stat_label": "of OpenAI API answers cite Wikipedia",
   "tag": "Engines"
  },
  {
   "title": "Model upgrades move citations overnight",
   "finding": "Within the same studies, the switch from Claude Sonnet 4.6 to Sonnet 5 in August 2026 cut earned media’s share of citations from 42% to 30%, and sources per answer dipped from 6.6 to 6.2. Visibility has to be tracked by model version, not just by engine.",
   "stat": "42% → 30%",
   "stat_label": "earned-media share of Claude citations, Sonnet 4.6 → 5",
   "tag": "Engines"
  }
 ],
 "industries": [
  {
   "industry": "Automotive",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/automotive/",
   "summary": "Car questions are answered by reviewers, listings and enthusiast forums. The manufacturer’s site is one voice among many.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "45k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "94%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "6.2",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "37%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Marketplaces & aggregators dominate",
     "finding": "CarDekho, CarWale, Cars24 and Spinny each appear in at least one in eight unbranded car answers.",
     "stat": "19%",
     "stat_label": "of car citations go to marketplaces & aggregators",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "India relies on forums for trust",
     "finding": "Reddit appears in only 6% of unbranded car answers overall. Owner forums are where reputations really get settled.",
     "stat": "41%",
     "stat_label": "of trust and reliability answers in India cite Team-BHP forum",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Germany relies on brands & dealers",
     "finding": "In India, brand and dealer sites supply just 27% of citations. Earned media (29%) and marketplaces (25%) carry most of the rest.",
     "stat": "63%",
     "stat_label": "of German-language citations are brand or dealer sites",
     "tag": "Markets"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Financial Services",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/financial-services/",
   "summary": "Money questions lean on personal-finance media, community threads and professional networks, and carry more negative framing than most sectors.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "50k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "91%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "8.8",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "36%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Publishers settle the price question",
     "finding": "Finder (13%) and NerdWallet (9%) follow, with Reddit at 15%. Comparison-style editorial is where cost questions get decided.",
     "stat": "19%",
     "stat_label": "of price and value answers cite Forbes",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Each engine hears a different crowd",
     "finding": "Perplexity leans on LinkedIn (17%) and cites Reddit in only 6%. The same question reaches different communities.",
     "stat": "21%",
     "stat_label": "of ChatGPT finance answers cite Reddit",
     "tag": "Engines"
    },
    {
     "title": "Money answers run cautious",
     "finding": "Almost twice the 5.2% cross-sector average, behind only NGOs and energy. It rises to 15% in how-to and product-detail answers, where fees and fraud dominate.",
     "stat": "9.2%",
     "stat_label": "of finance answers that discuss brands frame them negatively",
     "tag": "Tone"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Consumer",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/consumer/",
   "summary": "Review publishers and video decide consumer shortlists, and answers in local languages lean even harder on earned media.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "204k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "87%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "7.6",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "45%",
     "note": "Earned media"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Reviewers write the shortlist",
     "finding": "The highest of any sector. TechRadar (24%), RTINGS (21%) and What Hi-Fi? (15%) outrank every brand website.",
     "stat": "45%",
     "stat_label": "of consumer citations come from earned media",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "Google’s AI shops on YouTube",
     "finding": "AI Mode cites YouTube in 42% of consumer answers and ChatGPT in just 6%. Product video is a major input to Google’s answers.",
     "stat": "50%",
     "stat_label": "of Google AI Overviews consumer answers cite YouTube",
     "tag": "Engines"
    },
    {
     "title": "Local languages trust local reviewers",
     "finding": "Up from 40% in English. In Germany, CHIP, HIFI.DE and COMPUTER BILD lead, so an English-only media plan misses the source set.",
     "stat": "58%",
     "stat_label": "of citations in French-language answers are earned media",
     "tag": "Markets"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Education",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/education/",
   "summary": "Education answers are built on institutions, government and research, and on what students say on Reddit.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "21k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "92%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "6.4",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "27%",
     "note": "Institutions & associations"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Institutions outrank brands",
     "finding": "Government sources (12%) and academic sources (7%) follow. Brand websites supply only 16%, one of the lowest brand shares of any sector.",
     "stat": "27%",
     "stat_label": "of education citations come from institutions & associations",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "Reddit is the student voice",
     "finding": "Reddit is also the most-cited site across all unbranded education answers, at 12%.",
     "stat": "37%",
     "stat_label": "of school and university reputation answers cite Reddit",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Job platforms judge the outcomes",
     "finding": "Institutions’ own websites reach only 18%. Graduate-outcome content on job and salary platforms shapes how courses are compared.",
     "stat": "45%",
     "stat_label": "of careers and outcomes answers cite Indeed",
     "tag": "Themes"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Energy & Industrials",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/energy-industrials/",
   "summary": "Sustainability dominates the agenda and the tone. NGOs, Wikipedia and science outlets set the frame.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "35k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "92%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "7.5",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "38%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "ESG is over a quarter of the conversation",
     "finding": "In those answers Wikipedia is cited in 25%, WWF in 19% and NIH/PubMed research in 15%. NGOs and science set the frame.",
     "stat": "28%",
     "stat_label": "of sector answers are about sustainability & ESG",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Sustainability sharpens the tone",
     "finding": "Across all sector answers that discuss brands, 10.3% are negative, about twice the cross-sector average.",
     "stat": "22%",
     "stat_label": "of sustainability answers frame brands negatively",
     "tag": "Tone"
    },
    {
     "title": "Singapore trusts national media",
     "finding": "The Economic Development Board, CNA and The Business Times (each 11%) follow. Local press and agencies are the credibility layer.",
     "stat": "17%",
     "stat_label": "of Singapore answers cite The Straits Times",
     "tag": "Markets"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Government",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/government/",
   "summary": "Public-service questions are answered by communities as much as by government. Social platforms appear in half of answers.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "107k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "84%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "7.8",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "18%",
     "note": "Government & public sector"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Nearly half of answers cite social media",
     "finding": "Reddit (18%), Facebook (15%) and YouTube (12%) each appear in more unbranded answers than any single news site.",
     "stat": "47%",
     "stat_label": "of answers with sources cite a social or community platform",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "Reddit answers the career question",
     "finding": "LinkedIn (27%) and official job portals (22%) follow. Lived experience and official guidance are read side by side.",
     "stat": "33%",
     "stat_label": "of careers and jobs answers cite Reddit",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Name the programme, get the source",
     "finding": "Government sources also rise from 16% to 33% of citations. Unbranded discovery is where public bodies lose out.",
     "stat": "71%",
     "stat_label": "of answers that name the organisation cite its own site",
     "tag": "Branded vs. Unbranded"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Healthcare",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/healthcare/",
   "summary": "Health answers are the most evidence-led in the dataset. PubMed-indexed research anchors half of them.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "391k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "89%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "8.0",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "30%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Research anchors health answers",
     "finding": "nih.gov is the most-cited domain in the whole dataset, and academic and research sources make up 17% of healthcare citations.",
     "stat": "49%",
     "stat_label": "of unbranded health answers cite NIH/PubMed",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "Google adds video to medicine",
     "finding": "AI Mode cites YouTube in 39% of health answers and ChatGPT in just 3%. Patient and clinician video is a real input to Google’s answers.",
     "stat": "47%",
     "stat_label": "of Google AI Overviews health answers cite YouTube",
     "tag": "Engines"
    },
    {
     "title": "Local health systems lead locally",
     "finding": "Diabetes UK follows at 10%. In Germany, NIH research (25%) and the pharma association vfa.de (19%) lead. National bodies frame local answers.",
     "stat": "20%",
     "stat_label": "of UK health answers cite NHS.uk",
     "tag": "Markets"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "NGOs",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/ngos/",
   "summary": "Foundations are defined by institutions, Wikipedia and their peers, and framed more critically than any other sector.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "9.7k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "95%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "6.7",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "27%",
     "note": "Institutions & associations"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Wikipedia is the reference desk",
     "finding": "The highest rate of any sector, rising to 32% for reputation questions about foundations and charities.",
     "stat": "14%",
     "stat_label": "of NGO answers with sources cite Wikipedia",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "Reputation questions turn critical",
     "finding": "Across all NGO answers that discuss organisations, 13.9% are negative, the most critical tone of any sector and nearly three times the 5.2% average.",
     "stat": "26%",
     "stat_label": "of reputation answers that discuss organisations frame them negatively",
     "tag": "Tone"
    },
    {
     "title": "Peers and institutions frame the sector",
     "finding": "Institutions and associations supply 27% of NGO citations, ahead of earned media (24%). Unbranded answers cite other foundations and sector directories, such as Open Society, ClimateWorks and Wellcome, alongside the press.",
     "stat": "27%",
     "stat_label": "of NGO citations come from institutions & associations",
     "tag": "Sources"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Property",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/property/",
   "summary": "Property questions are often place questions, answered by travel platforms and local guides. In Singapore, market talk runs through LinkedIn and specialist media.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "79k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "86%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "8.0",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "33%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Property is a place question",
     "finding": "In those answers Tripadvisor is cited in 25% and city guides such as The Honeycombers in 11%, so place reputation feeds property visibility.",
     "stat": "68%",
     "stat_label": "of property answers are about neighbourhoods & places",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "LinkedIn leads third-party sources in Singapore",
     "finding": "Ahead of Tripadvisor (9%), PropertyGuru (8%) and Reddit (7%). Agents’ and analysts’ posts act as market commentary.",
     "stat": "14%",
     "stat_label": "of Singapore property answers cite LinkedIn",
     "tag": "Markets"
    },
    {
     "title": "Elsewhere, Wikipedia & Reddit lead",
     "finding": "Across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the US, Reddit is also cited in 7–11% of property answers.",
     "stat": "11–16%",
     "stat_label": "of property answers cite Wikipedia outside Singapore",
     "tag": "Markets"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Technology",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/technology/",
   "summary": "Vendors are their own best source in tech, with LinkedIn and Medium as the practitioner layer. API models reach for research and analysts.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "188k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "89%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "7.3",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "47%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Vendor sites carry tech answers",
     "finding": "Focus brands’ own sites are the most-cited source in unbranded tech answers (19%). Docs and product pages do the heavy lifting.",
     "stat": "47%",
     "stat_label": "of tech citations come from vendor & corporate sites",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "LinkedIn is the practitioner layer",
     "finding": "Across all unbranded technology answers, LinkedIn appears in 14% and Medium in 7%.",
     "stat": "22%",
     "stat_label": "of Google AI Mode tech answers cite LinkedIn",
     "tag": "Engines"
    },
    {
     "title": "APIs read the research",
     "finding": "Claude leans on McKinsey (11%), the World Economic Forum (10%) and Gartner (8%), while Google AI Overviews cites YouTube in 44%.",
     "stat": "31%",
     "stat_label": "of OpenAI API tech answers cite arXiv",
     "tag": "Engines"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "industry": "Travel & Tourism",
   "page": "https://www.wegeocompass.com/industries/travel-tourism/",
   "summary": "Travel answers are built on Tripadvisor and the booking platforms. Google AI Mode adds a strong social layer.",
   "kpis": [
    {
     "label": "AI answers analysed",
     "value": "48k"
    },
    {
     "label": "Answers citing sources",
     "value": "92%"
    },
    {
     "label": "Sources per answer",
     "value": "7.3",
     "note": "distinct domains, answers with sources"
    },
    {
     "label": "Largest source type",
     "value": "30%",
     "note": "Brand & corporate"
    }
   ],
   "insights": [
    {
     "title": "Tripadvisor is the travel reference",
     "finding": "It appears in 22% of all unbranded travel answers, more than any airline, hotel or tourism board site.",
     "stat": "33%",
     "stat_label": "of destination answers cite Tripadvisor",
     "tag": "Sources"
    },
    {
     "title": "OTAs own the price question",
     "finding": "Trip.com (29%), Skyscanner (28%), Kayak (26%) and Expedia (20%) each appear in a large share of price answers.",
     "stat": "25%",
     "stat_label": "of price-answer citations go to booking platforms",
     "tag": "Themes"
    },
    {
     "title": "Google AI Mode goes social",
     "finding": "Instagram follows at 24%, while ChatGPT cites YouTube in just 1% of travel answers. Social content is an AI Mode lever above all.",
     "stat": "26%",
     "stat_label": "of Google AI Mode travel answers cite Facebook",
     "tag": "Engines"
    }
   ]
  }
 ]
}