Whether your name appears in an AI answer differs sevenfold depending on whether your own site is used as a source. An analysis of 1.2 million AI citations

Itera, Inc. (head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takayuki Muto) has analysed the citations contained in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode, drawing on measurement data from LLMOcheki, its tool for measuring how companies are mentioned and cited in AI search.

In the last thirty days alone, the websites AI presented as the basis for its answers amounted to more than 1.2 million citations. How often a company’s own name comes up in an AI answer differed roughly sevenfold according to whether its own site was being used as a source. At the same time, more than 95% of the sources were sites other than the company’s own, and which sites tend to be used varies considerably between AI services.

Summary of findings

• Companies whose own site accounts for 5% or more of the sources are named in AI answers 32.3% of the time on average — about seven times the 4.7% of companies at 0%
• A company’s own site accounts for only 1-3% of the sources AI presents; more than 95% are third-party sites
• Over the last thirty days, Perplexity drew markedly on PR TIMES (about 12,000 citations) and note (about 11,000)
• Of 160 articles published over ninety days, 50 (31%) were used as a source by AI, with a median of 14 days before first use
• Over forty-five days at the same companies, the rate at which their names came up fell by an average of 2.3 points on Gemini and 7.5 points on Google’s AI Mode

Background

Gathering information through generative AI is becoming widespread. In a survey we ran between July and August 2026, AI Overview appeared on 86.5% of 897 Japanese Google search queries.

A company whose name does not come up in an AI answer may not even enter the set of options being compared. We therefore analysed, from measured data, the relationship between mentions of a company name and the sites AI presents as its sources.

Finding 1: naming is roughly seven times more likely when your own site is used as a source

We grouped companies by the share of sources accounted for by their own site, and averaged how often their name came up in AI answers.

Companies present among the sources even slightly were named about four times as often as those not present at all. The pattern holds across every AI service.

This is a correlation, not proof of a causal relationship.

Finding 2: more than 95% of sources are third-party sites, and which ones varies by AI

A company’s own site accounted for only 1-3% of the sources. The rest were third-party sites, and their make-up differs considerably between services.

• Perplexity: PR TIMES (about 12,000) and note (about 11,000) stand out
• ChatGPT: public bodies such as the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and local governments, and large portals such as Tabelog
• Claude and Gemini: booking and comparison sites such as Ikyu, Hot Pepper, Retty, OZmall, mybest and IT Trend
• Google AI Overview and AI Mode: Google’s own services (Google Business Profile among them) and YouTube

Wikipedia, Reddit and G2, often emphasised abroad, drew only a few dozen citations on any of the services.

Finding 3: about three in ten published articles became a source within roughly two weeks

Of 160 articles published by the companies over ninety days, 50 (31%) were used as a source. The median time before first use was 14 days, the shortest 2 days.

Claude responded fastest, followed by Perplexity and ChatGPT. Use by Google’s AI Mode came to only 20 instances.

Finding 4: left alone, the rate at which you are named goes down

Averaging the change over forty-five days at the same companies:

On Claude, Gemini and AI Mode, the companies that declined substantially outnumbered those that improved. We take this to mean the sites these services choose as sources are shifting.

What companies can do

• Prepare pages of your own that AI can use as a source: figures on results, pricing, frequently asked questions
• For Perplexity, make use of press releases and note articles
• For Google’s AI, keep your Google Business Profile in order and make use of YouTube
• For Claude and Gemini, build out your listings on booking and comparison sites
• Measure regularly, and respond where a service has declined

Read the full analysis https://llmocheki.com/blog/llmo/aisearch26dokujicyousa

Comment from our Representative Director

“In AI search it is no longer enough to follow a single metric the way one followed search rank. This data shows that the sites each AI service uses as its sources are entirely different from one another, and that the pattern changes over short periods.

What a company needs is to know which AI is introducing it, and through which sites. We will continue to publish our measurement data as something companies can use when deciding how to communicate in the age of AI.”

About the survey

• Title: Measured analysis of mention and citation tendencies in AI search
• Conducted by: Itera, Inc. (LLMOcheki)
• Scope: approximately 250 projects under measurement in LLMOcheki, chiefly store-based businesses
• AI services covered: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overview, Google AI Mode
• Period: the last ninety days (sources analysed over the last thirty days; change analysed over forty-five days within the same projects)
• Note: all figures are measured. Because store-based businesses make up much of the scope, booking and review sites tend to rank highly

Citing this survey

You are free to quote or reproduce this survey, citing “LLMOcheki survey (Itera, Inc.)” as the source.

About LLMOcheki

LLMOcheki is a Japanese-built tool that measures how your brand is mentioned and cited in AI search and carries the work through to improvement. It spans eight AI engines including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overview and AI Mode, measuring daily how often you and your competitors appear in answers and which sites were used as sources.

• Price: from ¥29,800 per month excluding tax, with no setup fee
• Free trial: 7 days, no card required
• Free audit: enter a URL, no registration required

LLMOcheki https://llmocheki.com/