ChatGPT included citations in 22.6% of travel answers and 4.8% of education answers in May, against an average of 6.8% across all answers, according to Similarweb’s 2026 Generative AI Landscape report. The figures cover U.S. desktop use.

Similarweb sells AI visibility tracking products, and the report is gated behind a download form.

How often a ChatGPT answer carries any link differs sharply by topic in Similarweb’s data. Where fewer answers carry links, there are fewer answers your site can appear in.

How Often ChatGPT Cites Sources, By Topic

Similarweb ranked nine sectors based on the proportion of answers that included at least one citation. Travel led at 22.6%, followed by retail at 13.5% and sports at 10.7%. Finance was at 8.0%, slightly higher than the overall average of 6.8%. Technology, health, media and entertainment, and education all fell below this average, with education at the lowest at 4.8%.

According to Similarweb, ChatGPT goes to the web most when people compare products, plan purchases, or ask about things that change.

The Overall Rate Climbed Through The Year

The overall rate went up from about 1.3% in June 2025 to 6.8% in May 2026, something that Similarweb describes as more than a fivefold increase in less than a year.

The rise wasn’t steady: it went over 6% in October, then dropped back to around 4.5% by February, before climbing again through spring. That rise sits next to SEJ’s April report, which noted that Resoneo observed ChatGPT citing about 20% fewer websites per response after the GPT-5.3 Instant update. The reports come from separate datasets that count different things. One looks at whether an answer includes a citation at all, and the other counts how many domains appear inside a single response.

ChatGPT Cites Different Sites In Different Topics

Similarweb also broke down which kinds of sites get cited, using what it labels the top 10,000 citations recorded on U.S. desktop in May.

Across all ChatGPT answers, reviews and user-generated content (UGC) accounted for 28.9% of citations, while news and publisher sites account for 26.0%. Retail and e-commerce websites represent 14.1%.

But, when we look at specific topics, the patterns can be quite different. For example, in beauty, retail and e-commerce sites are the most common, making up 54.7% of citations. In travel, reviews and UGC accounted for 54.1%. In finance, finance-specific sites hold 36.6%, with news and publisher sites at 28.0%.

Overall, Similarweb highlights that no single playbook covers every topic. Instead, brands should focus on understanding which types of sites are most frequently cited within their particular areas.

Meanwhile, SEJ has looked at this from a different angle. Roger Montti’s May article discusses how source preferences vary between AI engines. Similarweb’s analysis, however, focuses on topics.

What The Data Covers

All figures refer to U.S. desktop usage. The source mix is based on what Similarweb labels the top 10,000 citations in May. The report states that all of its data are estimates and extrapolations drawn from third-party sources, and are not warranted for accuracy or completeness. The report does not include API usage, desktop applications, or AI features integrated into other mobile and web apps.

Why This Matters

Citation rates differed sharply by topic in May. Less than 5% of education answers carried links, while over 20% of travel answers did. A citation push in education is chasing a far smaller pool of cited answers than the same work in travel.

Additionally, the sources of citations vary by domain. In beauty, most citations are from retail and e-commerce sites, whereas in finance, they come mainly from finance-specific websites and news outlets. A brand focusing on its own niche might observe different websites being cited depending on the field, and the types of referenced content can vary greatly across areas.

Looking Ahead

Citation rates moved a lot across the twelve months Similarweb tracked, and not in a straight line. The rate counts answers that carry at least one external link, and it can move on its own without anything a publisher does.

Keep an eye on how the rate changes over time, not just its current level. The overall rate dipped during the winter but then bounced back. Also, remember that Similarweb’s topic breakdown only looks at a single month.

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