An analysis reveals that sixty percent of citations on the AI search engine Perplexity align with Google’s top 10 organic search results. This trend is pronounced in the healthcare sector, where an impressive 82% overlap was observed, highlighting authoritative references such as the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health. Conversely, the restaurant industry exhibits the lowest overlap at 27%.
This discovery may seem counterintuitive, especially considering a previous analysis indicating a significant disparity of 94% between Google Search Generative Experience links and its organic results. However, it underscores the importance of prioritizing SEO efforts for Google, as a strong emphasis on building a reputable brand can facilitate optimization for Perplexity.
Examining where Perplexity and Google diverge reveals insights into their differing data sources. For instance, while Reddit emerges as a standard citation across various industries, Google favors platforms like Quora and Consumer Reports, whereas
Perplexity relies more heavily on Reddit for specific sectors.
The disparities in data sources stem from Google’s extensive collection of user-generated content, encompassing reviews, ratings, and business information, as well as proprietary platforms like Google Finance. In contrast, Perplexity often references platforms such as Yelp for location-based data and Yahoo Finance for financial information.
Despite these variations, Perplexity’s influence is steadily expanding. It boasts 15 million monthly active users and has experienced a 40% month-over-month increase in referrals to brand sites since January. Additionally, its organic share rate is growing at 39% per month, as reported by enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge and its Generative Parser.
On average, Perplexity provides 5.28 citations per response, with notable variations observed in the restaurant and travel sectors, where citations are notably more abundant.
“In a post-generative AI world, citations emerge as the new benchmarks for success. Brands aiming to excel must strive to become the cited sources,” emphasizes Jim Yu, founder and Executive Chairman of BrightEdge.
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