AI Search Study: Product Content Makes Up 70% Of Citations

A new study looked at how AI search tools give credit to different types of content. It found that product-related content shows up the most, making up between 46% and 70% of all sources used. This gives helpful tips to marketers about how to create content for AI search.

The study, done by XFunnel over 12 weeks, tracked 768,000 citations from ChatGPT, Google (AI Overviews), and Perplexity. It checked what kind of content they often use when answering questions.

Product Content Shows Up Most:

AI tools like to use product-focused content. This includes content with product details, comparisons, top product lists, and vendor info. These types of pages were cited the most.
Other types of content didn’t do as well:

• News and research got only 5–16% of citations
• Affiliate content stayed under 10%
• User reviews (like forum posts and Q&A) got 3–10%
• Blogs got 3–6%
• PR content was lowest, with less than 2%

AI Uses Different Content Based on Buyer Stage:

The study also found that AI search tools choose different types of content depending on what part of the buying process a user is in:

• Top of funnel (early stage): Product content was still on top at 56%. News and research were around 13–15%. This shows that even early-stage content can include product info.
• Middle of funnel: Product content dropped a bit to 46%. Reviews and affiliate links both rose to 14%. This suggests AI uses more opinions in comparison searches.
• Bottom of funnel (decision time): Product content reached its highest at over 70%. Other types stayed under 10%.

Differences in B2B and B2C Searches:

There were big changes between business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) searches:

• In B2B, product pages—especially from company websites—got nearly 56% of citations. Affiliate content was 13%, and user reviews were 11%.
• In B2C, product content was about 35%. Other types—affiliate (18%), reviews (15%), and news (15%)—were more common.

What This Means for SEO

Here’s what SEO experts and content creators should keep in mind:

• Adding detailed product info helps your content get cited, even for early-stage questions.
• Blogs, PR, and general educational content are cited less, so you may need to update how you write them.
• Make sure your content mix includes strong product pages for all stages of the buying journey.
• B2B marketers should focus on solid product pages. B2C marketers should also encourage good reviews on third-party sites.

As AI becomes a bigger part of search, knowing what kind of content it picks can help you stay ahead.