Zerply Research

Research reports

Findings on how AI engines cite sources, search the web, and talk about brands.

July 2026

Do AI engines recommend brands or just mention them?

In July 2026, 51.8% of brand mentions in AI-generated responses carried a neutral stance, and both the recommended share and the praised share came in at 0%. The figures draw on 600 responses collected across July 2026, covering brand mentions only.
Which sites does ChatGPT cite most?

Reddit took 87.6% of citations among the allowlisted publishers in ChatGPT answers in July 2026. The sample covers 607 ChatGPT responses collected during that month.
How many sources do AI engines cite per answer?

AI engines averaged 14.62 cited sources per answer in July 2026, with Perplexity leading at 20.02. The figures cover July 2026 and are drawn from 6,481 web-search answers across 3 engines.
How often does ChatGPT search the web before answering?

ChatGPT triggered a web search before 87.8% of tracked answers in July 2026. The July 2026 dataset covers 9,320 responses across 4 AI engines.