Who’s winning across 11 industries

Citations in AI search assistants reveal how authority is evolving on-line.

Analyzing outcomes throughout 11 main sectors reveals which domains are most frequently referenced and what that claims about credibility in an AI-driven panorama.

As assistants condense solutions and floor fewer hyperlinks, being cited has develop into a robust sign of belief and affect.

Primarily based on Semrush information from greater than 800 web sites, the findings spotlight how AI reshapes visibility throughout industries.

AI quotation traits throughout industries

The evaluation surfaced a number of clear patterns in how authority is distributed throughout industries.

Common authorities

Some domains appeared within the prime 50 cited URLs throughout almost all 11 sectors, with 4 domains showing in each one:

• reddit.com (~66,000 AI mentions throughout 11 sectors)
• en.wikipedia.org (~25,000, 11 sectors)
• youtube.com (~19,000, 11 sectors)
• forbes.com (~10,000, 11 sectors)
• linkedin.com (~9,000, 10 sectors)
• quora.com (~8,000, 10 sectors)

Different domains are sector-strong however globally influential: 

• amazon.com (ecommerce and 5 different sectors).
• nerdwallet.com (finance-focused).
• pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (well being and educational citations).

Focus and variety by sector

Quotation focus varies by sector.

• Most concentrated: Computer systems and electronics, leisure, training.
• Most numerous: Telecom, meals and beverage, healthcare, finance, journey and tourism.

This implies some sectors depend on a handful of go-to sources, whereas others distribute authority throughout a broader area.

Relationships between visibility and search engine marketing metrics

AI visibility and AI mentions are strongly correlated (0.87).

Natural key phrases correlate extra strongly with AI visibility (0.41) than backlinks (0.37).

Key phrases and backlinks themselves correlate at 0.79.

By sector, the coupling between AI visibility and backlinks is strongest in computer systems and electronics, automotive, leisure, finance, and training. 

In these sectors, the size of authority clearly helps drive AI references.

Sector breakdowns

Finance

Media manufacturers resembling Forbes and Enterprise Insider dominate citations, reflecting the significance of well timed commentary and market evaluation. 

Nevertheless, NerdWallet reveals that specialised finance consultants can obtain excessive AI visibility by constructing deep evergreen guides and comparability content material. 

This sector additionally reveals one of many strongest correlations between AI visibility and backlink scale, suggesting that authority alerts stay extremely influential.

Healthcare

Tutorial and authorities domains are closely cited. 

The dominance of PubMed Central (PMC), CDC, and nationwide well being portals underlines the central function of trusted peer-reviewed or official info. 

Wikipedia additionally seems constantly, usually serving as a layperson-friendly entry level. 

Variety is decrease right here in contrast with consumer-facing sectors, reflecting the necessity for evidence-based references.

Journey and tourism

Citations are unfold throughout authorities advisories (for instance, gov.uk journey recommendation), reserving platforms, boards, and user-generated communities. 

This range displays the combo of sensible (visa, security), inspirational (guides, blogs), and transactional (reserving) content material customers want.

The sector’s Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) rating is low, suggesting no single authority dominates, and visibility is earned by serving very particular consumer wants.

Leisure

Person-generated platforms dominate. 

Reddit, YouTube, and Quora all seem close to the highest of cited domains, alongside reference sources resembling Wikipedia and IMDb. 

This highlights how conversational, community-driven content material is central to how AI assistants clarify and contextualize leisure. 

On this area, backlink counts are much less predictive than breadth of protection.

Training

Citations focus round reference authorities together with Wikipedia, college portals, and open-courseware suppliers. 

Specialist studying platforms and boards additionally characteristic, however the dominance of well-known educational sources creates a extra concentrated quotation atmosphere. 

Right here, AI assistants lean closely on authoritative, structured content material.

Computer systems and electronics

Expertise information and evaluation websites dominate, with CNET, The Verge, and Tom’s Information showing prominently. 

Wikipedia is once more current, however the sector is notable for its focus, with citations clustering round a couple of extremely recognizable evaluation hubs. 

This sector additionally reveals one of many highest correlations between AI visibility and backlink scale, underlining the aggressive function of authority alerts.

Automotive

A mixture of shopper guides (for instance, Autotrader, AutoZone) and writer content material. 

Insurance coverage and financing suppliers additionally obtain citations, reflecting consumer queries that span from shopping for automobiles to managing possession. 

Citations are considerably extra evenly distributed, however AI assistants lean on a steadiness of transactional and informational sources.

Magnificence and cosmetics

Influencer-led platforms and group dialogue areas are regularly cited alongside model web sites and evaluation hubs. 

The mix of user-generated content material and model authority makes this sector extra numerous than common. 

Right here, social-driven citations compete with established publishing manufacturers.

Meals and beverage

Recipe hubs, diet authorities, and group cooking websites dominate. 

Wikipedia additionally options, particularly for ingredient-level explanations. 

The sector has one of many lowest HHI values, that means a large range of domains are being cited. 

Backlink totals are much less correlated with visibility right here. As a substitute, topical protection breadth appears to matter extra.

Telecoms

Citations are comparatively numerous, starting from supplier assist portals to tech media and shopper advocacy websites. 

Boards like Reddit usually characteristic in troubleshooting contexts. 

The sector’s low HHI suggests no single authority dominates, however customers’ sensible questions drive AI programs to reference customer-support-style materials.

Actual property

Cited domains embody giant itemizing platforms (for instance, Zillow-type websites), monetary companies tied to mortgages, and authorities portals for regulation and housing information. 

Whereas concentrated, the sector additionally pulls from information sources when market circumstances are being defined.

Implications for manufacturers and SEOs

The patterns in AI citations carry direct classes for manufacturers and SEOs, highlighting:

• How authority is constructed.
• What forms of belongings AI prefers to reference.
• Why conventional search engine marketing levers now work together in a different way with visibility.

Reference belongings matter

Evergreen guides, requirements, and explainers entice citations from each serps and AI fashions. 

To compete with Wikipedia or authorities websites, manufacturers have to publish authoritative, fact-checked materials that others can comfortably reference.

Breadth of protection drives visibility

Domains with a large natural key phrase footprint constantly present stronger AI visibility. 

Because of this protecting a whole matter space comprehensively – not simply optimizing for a handful of high-volume key phrases – positions a model as a dependable reference supply.

Sector guidelines differ

Every sector rewards completely different authority alerts. In healthcare, peer-reviewed or government-backed assets dominate. 

In leisure, community-driven and UGC platforms rise to the highest. In finance, explainers and calculators from skilled manufacturers are regularly cited. 

Manufacturers have to adapt their content material technique to the belief mannequin of their sector.

Fewer hyperlinks, greater stakes

AI assistants usually cite solely a handful of sources per response. 

Being included delivers disproportionate visibility. 

Conversely, being absent means rivals seize almost the entire publicity. 

This focus raises the bar for what counts as a reference-worthy asset.

Backlinks nonetheless matter, however much less straight

Whereas backlink scale correlates with AI visibility, the correlation is weaker than for natural key phrase breadth. 

This means backlinks stay an authority sign, however the breadth and relevance of content material could also be extra crucial in an AI-driven atmosphere.

Person intent alignment

AI assistants pull from sources that finest align with the particular intent behind a question. 

Manufacturers that anticipate consumer wants – whether or not transactional, informational, or troubleshooting – stand a greater probability of being cited.

Creating layered content material (guides, FAQs, instruments) that matches completely different intents strengthens visibility.

Turning into a referenced model

Citations in AI search outcomes reveal the belief networks that underpin the following wave of search. 

Wikipedia, Reddit, and YouTube are common reference factors, however sector-specific authorities additionally matter.

For manufacturers, the lesson is evident: to win visibility in AI-driven search, it’s essential be the web page that others cite. 

Which means authoritative content material, breadth of protection, and belongings designed to be referenced.

Evaluation methodology

The evaluation drew from AI quotation information spanning 11 sectors and greater than 800 domains, utilizing responses from Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and ChatGPT search.

Two major metrics have been calculated:

• AI visibility rating: The common share of responses wherein a site was cited throughout Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and ChatGPT search.
• AI mentions: The whole variety of instances a site was cited throughout these engines in a given sector.

These metrics have been then enriched with:

• Natural key phrases (Semrush): The variety of key phrases for which a site ranks in natural search.
• Backlinks (Semrush): The whole backlinks pointing to a site.

Spearman correlation

To measure the diploma of correlation between metrics, I used the Spearman correlation coefficient. 

Not like Pearson correlation, which assumes linear relationships, Spearman appears at whether or not the rating of 1 metric strikes in line with one other. 

In easy phrases, if domains with greater key phrase counts additionally are inclined to rank greater for AI visibility, the Spearman worth can be excessive even when the connection isn’t a wonderfully straight line. 

A price close to +1 means the 2 rise collectively constantly, close to -1 means one rises as the opposite falls, and close to 0 means no clear sample.

Focus of the HHI

I then measured quotation focus utilizing the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, a metric borrowed from economics. 

It’s calculated by summing the squares of market shares, on this case, every area’s share of AI mentions in a sector. 

An HHI nearer to 1 means a sector is dominated by just some domains, whereas values nearer to 0 point out citations are unfold extra evenly. 

For instance, an HHI of 0.05 suggests a concentrated panorama, whereas 0.02 factors to better range.

By combining AI visibility, quotation counts, search engine marketing scale (key phrases and backlinks from Semrush), Spearman correlations, and HHI focus, I constructed a cross-sector image of who holds authority in AI-driven search.