8,766
Grok total citations
22,864
Google AI Mode total citations
0.40
Median rank correlation

Divergent source priorities shape model outputs

Analyzing citation shares reveals contrasting preferences between the two models. Grok and Google AI Mode exhibit distinct reliance on specific domains for their reference material.

Figure 1Share gap: Grok minus Google AI Mode
Share gap: Grok minus Google AI Mode youtube.com: -2.2pp youtube.com -2.2pp reddit.com: -1.7pp reddit.com -1.7pp google.com: -1.6pp google.com -1.6pp nytimes.com: +0.9pp nytimes.com +0.9pp thepointsguy.com: +0.6pp thepointsguy.com +0.6pp gq.com.mx: +0.6pp gq.com.mx +0.6pp imarcgroup.com: +0.6pp imarcgroup.com +0.6pp du.ae: -0.6pp du.ae -0.6pp
Positive bars: Grok leans on the source more; negative: Google AI Mode does.
Data table
Seriesgap
youtube.com-2.2pp
reddit.com-1.7pp
google.com-1.6pp
nytimes.com+0.9pp
thepointsguy.com+0.6pp
gq.com.mx+0.6pp
imarcgroup.com+0.6pp
du.ae-0.6pp

Shared citation overlap in social platforms

Despite differing overall volumes, both models frequently draw from major social and video platforms in their regular operations.

Figure 2Source mix: the tale of the tape
Source mix: the tale of the tapeGROK GOOGLE AI MODE VSsocial platforms: Grok 7.1%, Google AI Mode 12.2% social platforms 7.1% 12.2% news publishers: Grok 3.4%, Google AI Mode 1.7% news publishers 3.4% 1.7% comparison & review sites: Grok 2.3%, Google AI Mode 1.7% comparison & review sites 2.3% 1.7% academic & research: Grok 0.2%, Google AI Mode 1.1% academic & research 0.2% 1.1% marketplaces: Grok 0.8%, Google AI Mode 0.8% marketplaces 0.8% 0.8% B2B research: Grok 0.3%, Google AI Mode 0.4% B2B research 0.3% 0.4% everything else: Grok 85.9%, Google AI Mode 82.2% everything else 85.9% 82.2% same scale both sides · max 85.9%
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
Grok7.1%3.4%2.3%0.2%0.8%0.3%85.9%
Google AI Mode12.2%1.7%1.7%1.1%0.8%0.4%82.2%

Moderate rank correlation in brand placement

Evaluating how both systems rank brands demonstrates moderate alignment in their underlying evaluation metrics.

Figure 3Brand-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 4Grok — top sources
Grok — top sources instagram.com: 1.9% instagram.com 1.9% facebook.com: 1.5% facebook.com 1.5% youtube.com: 1.4% youtube.com 1.4% reddit.com: 1.2% reddit.com 1.2% nytimes.com: 1% nytimes.com 1% thepointsguy.com: 0.8% thepointsguy.com 0.8% nerdwallet.com: 0.8% nerdwallet.com 0.8% tiktok.com: 0.7% tiktok.com 0.7% tripadvisor.com: 0.6% tripadvisor.com 0.6% imarcgroup.com: 0.6% imarcgroup.com 0.6%
Share of Grok's 8,766 citations.
Data table
Seriesshare
instagram.com1.9%
facebook.com1.5%
youtube.com1.4%
reddit.com1.2%
nytimes.com1%
thepointsguy.com0.8%
nerdwallet.com0.8%
tiktok.com0.7%
tripadvisor.com0.6%
imarcgroup.com0.6%
Figure 5Google AI Mode — top sources
Google AI Mode — top sources youtube.com: 3.6% youtube.com 3.6% reddit.com: 2.9% reddit.com 2.9% instagram.com: 2% instagram.com 2% facebook.com: 1.9% facebook.com 1.9% google.com: 1.8% google.com 1.8% tiktok.com: 0.9% tiktok.com 0.9% du.ae: 0.7% du.ae 0.7% nih.gov: 0.6% nih.gov 0.6% linkedin.com: 0.6% linkedin.com 0.6% eand.ae: 0.6% eand.ae 0.6%
Share of Google AI Mode's 22,864 citations.
Data table
Seriesshare
youtube.com3.6%
reddit.com2.9%
instagram.com2%
facebook.com1.9%
google.com1.8%
tiktok.com0.9%
du.ae0.7%
nih.gov0.6%
linkedin.com0.6%
eand.ae0.6%

Method & limitations

  • Dataset relies on specific sample windows during May 2026 and does not capture real-time algorithmic shifts.
  • Citation counts reflect observed responses and may vary based on query selection and category distribution.

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

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