The question
How much do user-generated platforms actually show up in AI answers? We looked at 416,000+ citations across 5 B2B SaaS brands, 7 AI engines, and the last 90 days.
Proprietary analysis · October 2026
Where UGC gets cited in AI searchfor B2B SaaS
5
SaaS brands
7
AI engines
90
days
416k
citations
The answer
It depends almost entirely on the LLM. Eight UGC platforms take 13–15% of citations in Google's AI surfaces and less than 3% everywhere else. The #1 platform changes by engine, too.
So what
Elsewhere, most citations go to vendor sites, product pages, and third-party listicles.
Pick UGC platforms by the LLMs our buyers use, not by what's trending.
Who leads where?
Share of each engine's citations going to each UGC platform. Click an engine to focus it.
| AI Overviews | AI Mode | Perplexity | Gemini | ChatGPT | Claude | Copilot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 9.66% | 9.23% | 0.83% | 0.37% | 0.04% | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| 4.06% | 3.03% | 1.19% | 1.19% | 0.96% | 0 | 0 | |
| 0.76% | 0.60% | 0.56% | 0 | 0.27% | 0.11% | 0.13% | |
| 0.39% | 0.07% | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Medium | 0.08% | 0.13% | <0.01% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.10% | 0 |
| Quora | 0.35% | 0.05% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.04% | 0.04% | 0 | 0 | <0.01% | <0.01% | 0 | |
| TikTok | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | <0.01% |
Reddit has two blind spots
#1 in Perplexity, Gemini, and ChatGPT. Not a single citation from Claude or Copilot in 90 days.
YouTube dominates Google
9–10% of citations in Google's AI surfaces, then under 0.1% in ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot.
LinkedIn is the quiet constant
Top 3 in six of seven engines, and #1 in Claude and Copilot.
LLMs are going separate ways
The tools differ in how many sites they cite, which sites they trust, and what kinds of pages they pick.
21→4
sources per AI Mode answer
220k
AI citations
01
Google AI Mode cites fewer sites
Each answer now links about 4 sources, down from 21. The same few websites get most of the mentions. Seen for all 5 brands.
02
Copilot, Perplexity, and Claude cite more sites
They now spread mentions across a wider range of websites. Seen for all 5 brands too.
03
What works in one tool can fail in another
Reddit got more mentions in Google AI Mode and fewer in ChatGPT, for all 5 brands. "Best of" lists and how-to guides are losing ground in most tools.
Plan for each LLM, not for "AI search" as a whole.
Same tactic, opposite results
Change in share of AI citations by page type, first 30 days vs. last 30 days (percentage points). Pick an engine to see its winners and losers.
| AI Mode | AI Overviews | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Copilot | Claude | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forums (e.g., Reddit) | ▲ +4.6 | ▲ +2.6 | ▼ -1.7 | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.1 | +0.7 |
| Video (e.g., YouTube) | ▲ +3.9 | +0.1 | 0.0 | ▼ -2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Product & pricing pages | ▲ +4.6 | +0.9 | ▲ +3.4 | +0.2 | ▲ +3.1 | ▲ +1.4 | ▼ -4.6 |
| Review sites (e.g., G2) | ▲ +1.9 | ▲ +2.9 | -1.2 | -0.9 | ▲ +2.8 | +0.1 | ▼ -1.1 |
| "Best of" lists | ▼ -9.5 | ▼ -3.5 | -0.7 | ▼ -3.2 | ▼ -6.9 | +0.9 | ▲ +4.6 |
| How-to guides | ▼ -4.6 | ▼ -2.2 | ▼ -2.8 | ▲ +1.7 | +0.9 | ▼ -1.6 | +0.2 |
| Low-quality stats sites | -0.1 | -0.1 | ▼ -1.6 | ▼ -1.1 | ▼ -15.5 | +0.5 | 0.0 |
Highlighted = at least 3 of 5 brands moved the same way, by 1 point or more. Gray = no clear change.
Forums depend on the tool
More mentions in both Google AI tools. Fewer in ChatGPT, for all 5 brands.
Product pages are gaining
Up in AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude. Down only in Gemini.
"Best of" lists are slipping
Still about 45% of all citations, but losing ground in 4 tools. Copilot cut low-quality stats sites in half.
How to find which engines buyers use
Check per brand. Their buyers' engine mix decides the UGC plan.
0 of 4 signals checked