11,441
Google AIO total citations
15,872
Google AI Mode total citations
0.52
Median rank correlation between models

Google AI Mode cites google.com in 3.4% of its citations — Google AIO just 0.8%

Examining the citation share differences highlights the distinct preferences of each AI model. Google AI Mode leans more heavily on google.com, while Google AIO distributes its citations differently across the top domains.

Figure 1Share gap: Google AIO minus Google AI Mode
Share gap: Google AIO minus Google AI Mode google.com: -2.6pp google.com -2.6pp youtube.com: -1.3pp youtube.com -1.3pp du.ae: -1pp du.ae -1pp eand.ae: -0.6pp eand.ae -0.6pp facebook.com: +0.5pp facebook.com +0.5pp instagram.com: -0.5pp instagram.com -0.5pp nih.gov: +0.5pp nih.gov +0.5pp reddit.com: +0.4pp reddit.com +0.4pp
Positive bars: Google AIO leans on the source more; negative: Google AI Mode does.
Data table
Seriesgap
google.com-2.6pp
youtube.com-1.3pp
du.ae-1pp
eand.ae-0.6pp
facebook.com+0.5pp
instagram.com-0.5pp
nih.gov+0.5pp
reddit.com+0.4pp

youtube.com is Google AIO's most-cited source (4.0% of its citations in June 2026)

Video content remains a cornerstone for AI search behavior. youtube.com leads the citation share for Google AIO, capturing 4 percent of all citations recorded in June 2026.

Figure 2Google AIO — top sources
Google AIO — top sources youtube.com: 4% youtube.com 4% reddit.com: 3.8% reddit.com 3.8% facebook.com: 2.3% facebook.com 2.3% instagram.com: 1.3% instagram.com 1.3% whatcar.com: 1% whatcar.com 1% du.ae: 0.8% du.ae 0.8% eand.ae: 0.8% eand.ae 0.8% google.com: 0.8% google.com 0.8% carwow.co.uk: 0.7% carwow.co.uk 0.7% nih.gov: 0.7% nih.gov 0.7%
Share of Google AIO's 11,441 citations.
Data table
Seriesshare
youtube.com4%
reddit.com3.8%
facebook.com2.3%
instagram.com1.3%
whatcar.com1%
du.ae0.8%
eand.ae0.8%
google.com0.8%
carwow.co.uk0.7%
nih.gov0.7%

youtube.com is Google AI Mode's most-cited source (5.3% of its citations in June 2026)

For Google AI Mode, youtube.com commands an even larger share, reaching 5.3 percent of total citations during June 2026 across 4,302 responses.

Figure 3Google AI Mode — top sources
Google AI Mode — top sources youtube.com: 5.3% youtube.com 5.3% google.com: 3.4% google.com 3.4% reddit.com: 3.4% reddit.com 3.4% instagram.com: 1.8% instagram.com 1.8% du.ae: 1.8% du.ae 1.8% facebook.com: 1.8% facebook.com 1.8% eand.ae: 1.4% eand.ae 1.4% linkedin.com: 0.9% linkedin.com 0.9% gov.sa: 0.8% gov.sa 0.8% whatcar.com: 0.6% whatcar.com 0.6%
Share of Google AI Mode's 15,872 citations.
Data table
Seriesshare
youtube.com5.3%
google.com3.4%
reddit.com3.4%
instagram.com1.8%
du.ae1.8%
facebook.com1.8%
eand.ae1.4%
linkedin.com0.9%
gov.sa0.8%
whatcar.com0.6%

Google AIO and Google AI Mode agree on brand rankings with a median rank correlation of 0.52 (1 = identical order, 0 = unrelated)

Despite differing citation shares for individual domains, the overall brand ranking alignment between the two models shows a moderate positive correlation.

Figure 4Brand-ranking agreement by model pair
Brand-ranking agreement by model pair Google AIO × Google AI Mode: 0.5 Google AIO × Google AI Mode 0.5 DeepSeek × Meta AI: 0.5 DeepSeek × Meta AI 0.5 Gemini × Google AI Mode: 0.5 Gemini × Google AI Mode 0.5 Perplexity × ChatGPT: 0.5 Perplexity × ChatGPT 0.5 Gemini × Google AIO: 0.5 Gemini × Google AIO 0.5 Gemini × DeepSeek: 0.5 Gemini × DeepSeek 0.5 Claude × Meta AI: 0.4 Claude × Meta AI 0.4 Claude × Gemini: 0.4 Claude × Gemini 0.4 ChatGPT × Google AIO: 0.4 ChatGPT × Google AIO 0.4 ChatGPT × Meta AI: 0.4 ChatGPT × Meta AI 0.4 Claude × Google AI Mode: 0.4 Claude × Google AI Mode 0.4 Gemini × ChatGPT: 0.4 Gemini × ChatGPT 0.4 ChatGPT × Google AI Mode: 0.4 ChatGPT × Google AI Mode 0.4 DeepSeek × Google AI Mode: 0.4 DeepSeek × Google AI Mode 0.4 Perplexity × Gemini: 0.4 Perplexity × Gemini 0.4 Perplexity × DeepSeek: 0.4 Perplexity × DeepSeek 0.4 Perplexity × Google AI Mode: 0.4 Perplexity × Google AI Mode 0.4 ChatGPT × DeepSeek: 0.4 ChatGPT × DeepSeek 0.4 Google AI Mode × Meta AI: 0.4 Google AI Mode × Meta AI 0.4 Perplexity × Google AIO: 0.4 Perplexity × Google AIO 0.4 DeepSeek × Google AIO: 0.4 DeepSeek × Google AIO 0.4 Gemini × Meta AI: 0.4 Gemini × Meta AI 0.4 Perplexity × Meta AI: 0.4 Perplexity × Meta AI 0.4 Gemini × Grok: 0.4 Gemini × Grok 0.4 Grok × Google AI Mode: 0.4 Grok × Google AI Mode 0.4 Grok × DeepSeek: 0.4 Grok × DeepSeek 0.4 Grok × Google AIO: 0.4 Grok × Google AIO 0.4 Claude × Perplexity: 0.4 Claude × Perplexity 0.4 Claude × ChatGPT: 0.4 Claude × ChatGPT 0.4 Claude × Google AIO: 0.4 Claude × Google AIO 0.4 ChatGPT × Grok: 0.4 ChatGPT × Grok 0.4 Google AIO × Meta AI: 0.4 Google AIO × Meta AI 0.4 Perplexity × Grok: 0.4 Perplexity × Grok 0.4 Claude × Grok: 0.3 Claude × Grok 0.3 Claude × DeepSeek: 0.3 Claude × DeepSeek 0.3
Median Spearman rank correlation across shared analyses. 1 = identical brand order, 0 = unrelated.
Data table
Seriesmedian rho
Google AIO × Google AI Mode0.5
DeepSeek × Meta AI0.5
Gemini × Google AI Mode0.5
Perplexity × ChatGPT0.5
Gemini × Google AIO0.5
Gemini × DeepSeek0.5
Claude × Meta AI0.4
Claude × Gemini0.4
ChatGPT × Google AIO0.4
ChatGPT × Meta AI0.4
Claude × Google AI Mode0.4
Gemini × ChatGPT0.4
ChatGPT × Google AI Mode0.4
DeepSeek × Google AI Mode0.4
Perplexity × Gemini0.4
Perplexity × DeepSeek0.4
Perplexity × Google AI Mode0.4
ChatGPT × DeepSeek0.4
Google AI Mode × Meta AI0.4
Perplexity × Google AIO0.4
DeepSeek × Google AIO0.4
Gemini × Meta AI0.4
Perplexity × Meta AI0.4
Gemini × Grok0.4
Grok × Google AI Mode0.4
Grok × DeepSeek0.4
Grok × Google AIO0.4
Claude × Perplexity0.4
Claude × ChatGPT0.4
Claude × Google AIO0.4
ChatGPT × Grok0.4
Google AIO × Meta AI0.4
Perplexity × Grok0.4
Claude × Grok0.3
Claude × DeepSeek0.3
Figure 5Source mix: the tale of the tape
Source mix: the tale of the tapeGOOGLE AIO GOOGLE AI MODE VSsocial platforms: Google AIO 12.7%, Google AI Mode 14.3% social platforms 12.7% 14.3% news publishers: Google AIO 1.3%, Google AI Mode 0.8% news publishers 1.3% 0.8% comparison & review sites: Google AIO 1.1%, Google AI Mode 0.5% comparison & review sites 1.1% 0.5% academic & research: Google AIO 1.3%, Google AI Mode 0.7% academic & research 1.3% 0.7% marketplaces: Google AIO 1.4%, Google AI Mode 1.3% marketplaces 1.4% 1.3% B2B research: Google AIO 0.8%, Google AI Mode 0.7% B2B research 0.8% 0.7% everything else: Google AIO 81.4%, Google AI Mode 81.6% everything else 81.4% 81.6% same scale both sides · max 81.6%
Share of each model’s own citations going to each source category. Both sides share one scale from the centre spine.
Data table
Seriessocial platformsnews publisherscomparison & review sitesacademic & researchmarketplacesB2B researcheverything else
Google AIO12.7%1.3%1.1%1.3%1.4%0.8%81.4%
Google AI Mode14.3%0.8%0.5%0.7%1.3%0.7%81.6%

Method & limitations

  • Citations reflect observed AI search behaviour in June 2026 and may change as underlying models update.
  • Share percentages are calculated from each model's own recorded citation pool.

How every figure on this page is counted, floored and reviewed: our methodology.

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