Reddit, LinkedIn and Forums: The Hidden Sources AI Uses to Recommend Brands

Most businesses believe that having a great website is enough to appear in ChatGPT or Perplexity. But the data tells a very different story.

According to an analysis of over 680 million AI citations, Reddit is the most cited source by Perplexity — with 24% of all its citations in January 2026 coming from Reddit. LinkedIn has become the second most cited source in AI globally, ahead of Wikipedia, YouTube and all major media outlets. And forums like Quora account for a significant percentage of Google AI Overviews citations.

Your website may be perfect. But if you don't have presence on these platforms, AI is recommending your competitor because it found them in a Reddit thread or a LinkedIn post, not on their corporate website.

The Data: Where Does AI Get Its Recommendations?

Multiple independent studies published between late 2025 and early 2026 reach the same conclusion: social and community platforms represent a growing share of AI citations.

The Tinuiti Q1 2026 report analyzed commercial queries across seven AI platforms. Semrush studied over 230,000 prompts across three platforms. Profound analyzed 680 million citations. And Surfer SEO studied 46 million citations. All agree that community sources have grown significantly.

Key data points: social media presence in AI citations exceeded 9% globally in January 2026. Reddit grew over 73% as a cited source between October 2025 and January 2026 across all industries analyzed. And LinkedIn went from being the #11 source in ChatGPT in November 2025 to #5 in February 2026 — the largest authority jump Profound has recorded.

This isn't an anomaly. It's a structural trend that changes the rules for brands, as we explain in our AI SEO guide.

Reddit: The Dominant Source in Perplexity (and Growing Everywhere Else)

Reddit is by far the most cited community source by AI models. But its importance varies enormously by platform, as we saw in our ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Gemini comparison.

On Perplexity, Reddit accounts for 46.7% of citations among the top 10 sources — nearly half. It's the dominant source, above any media outlet, directory or corporate website.

On Google AI Overviews, Reddit represents 44% of all social media citations and 2.2% of total citations — the single most cited individual source.

On ChatGPT, the relationship is more volatile. In early August 2025, ChatGPT cited Reddit in nearly 60% of its responses. Weeks later, that figure plummeted to 10%. OpenAI adjusted its model to avoid over-relying on a single source. But Reddit remains relevant, especially for informational queries.

On Gemini, curiously, Reddit carries much less weight — only 5% of social citations, compared to 44% in AI Overviews. This shows that even within Google's ecosystem, different AI surfaces work very differently.

The Challenge for Spanish-Speaking Brands

Here's the crucial nuance for businesses in Spain and Latin America. Most Reddit activity is in English. Spanish-language subreddits exist but are much smaller and less active.

This means two things. For brands operating in English-speaking or bilingual markets, Reddit is essential. But for brands operating primarily in Spanish, the opportunity lies in Spanish equivalents: industry forums, Spanish-language LinkedIn communities, and local platforms.

In Spain: industry forums, professional LinkedIn communities.

In Mexico: Reddit Mexico (r/mexico has over 1.5 million members), Facebook communities that function as forums, LinkedIn Mexico.

In Colombia, Argentina, Chile: professional LinkedIn communities, industry groups on Facebook.

LinkedIn: The 2026 Surprise in AI Visibility

This is probably the most important and least known finding of recent months: LinkedIn has become the second most cited source by AI, behind only Reddit.

A Semrush analysis of 325,000 prompts in February 2026 revealed that 11% of all AI responses reference a LinkedIn URL. Broken down by platform: ChatGPT cites LinkedIn content in 14.3% of responses. Google AI Mode in 13.5%. Perplexity in 5.3%.

LinkedIn is ahead of Wikipedia, YouTube and every major media outlet as an information source for AI. For any marketing professional, this completely changes channel prioritization.

What Type of LinkedIn Content Does AI Cite?

There's an important difference by platform. On ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, approximately 59% of cited LinkedIn content comes from individual profiles — personal posts, articles and content tied to specific people. The remaining 41% comes from company pages.

On Perplexity it's reversed: 59% comes from company pages and 41% from individual profiles.

The optimal strategy is to invest on both fronts: your company page publishing structured, quality content, and your executives/employees posting with demonstrable expertise in their area.

How to Leverage LinkedIn for AI Visibility

Publish content frequently on both your company page and personal profiles of your company leaders. Write long posts with concrete data, analysis and well-founded opinions — AI values substantial content, not three-line motivational posts. Include verifiable information: numbers, results, tool names, comparisons. Respond to comments and generate conversation — posts with more engagement tend to be cited more.

YouTube: The Multimedia Source Nobody Optimizes for AI

YouTube consistently appears among the most cited sources, especially in Google AI Overviews where it accounts for approximately 23% of citations according to a Surfer SEO analysis — the single most cited individual source above Wikipedia in that context.

This makes sense: Google owns YouTube and has full access to video transcriptions. When a user asks a question and there's a well-structured video answering it, Google AI Overviews cites it.

For brands, this opens a huge opportunity: creating videos that answer frequently asked questions in your industry. They don't need to be elaborate productions — a clear 5-10 minute video with good transcription can be cited more than a blog post.

What Does NOT Work: Press Releases

One data point worth mentioning to avoid wasting resources: press releases distributed through wire services (like PRNewswire) account for only 0.04% of all AI citations. Syndicated releases through platforms like Yahoo Finance or MSN are practically invisible to AI models.

If you're thinking about investing in press release distribution to improve your AI visibility, the data is clear: the return is virtually zero. Better to invest that budget in LinkedIn content, presence in relevant forums or reviews on third-party platforms.

The Strategy: Where to Be Present

Since most studies focus on the English-speaking market, here's a concrete adaptation for brands:

To appear in ChatGPT: prioritize LinkedIn (company posts + individual profiles), Wikipedia if applicable, authority media for your market, and review platforms (G2, Trustpilot, Google Business).

To appear in Perplexity: prioritize Reddit (relevant subreddits for your industry), your website with fresh, updated content, industry directories and review platforms.

To appear in Gemini/Google AI: prioritize your own well-optimized website, Google Business Profile, YouTube with videos answering common questions, and LinkedIn.

For all: avoid depending on a single source or platform. Citation shares fluctuate rapidly. Diversification is the most resilient strategy.

Measure Where AI Is Citing You (and Where It's Not)

Don't assume that if you have an active LinkedIn, AI already cites you. You need to measure your real visibility across each model to know if your source presence strategy is working.

With Mentio you can analyze whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Grok mention your brand, in what position and with what sentiment. Questions are generated in native Spanish for your specific industry and market — try a free analysis and discover if AI is finding you where it needs to find you.

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