Top 100 Most Cited Domains In AI Mode (2026 Case Study)

Have you ever wondered how AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc, actually get their answers from? These AI tools pull data from websites and user-generated content platforms such as Wikipedia and Reddit.

Recent Ahrefs data shows that Google’s AI Mode mostly cites Wikipedia, YouTube, Google blogs, Reddit, and Google. In fact, Wikipedia leads by a huge margin, appearing in over 1.1 million AI answers.

In this post, we’ll break down the complete list of the most cited domains in AI Mode, along with the total number of AI mentions and how to track AI citations.

Top 100 Most Cited Domains In AI Mode In 2026

Quick note: I have also created this list in a downloadable format. Click below to download it.

PDF

Microsof.xlsx

Google Sheet

Here’s a table showing the top 100 websites by total AI mentions, based on how often they appear in AI-generated content.

Source: Ahrefs

Top 10 Cited domains in AI mode of 2026 (In-Depth Breakdown)

Here’s a list of the top 10 websites AI platforms mention the most when answering questions, including their estimated monthly visits and niche.

1. Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the world’s #1 free online encyclopedia, open for anyone to edit. It was founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001 and became popular because of its reliable information on almost every topic. Also, Wikipedia is the 6th most-visited website in the world.

2. YouTube

YouTube is the world’s largest video-sharing platform, free for anyone to upload and watch videos. Not only this, YouTube is also the most searched term on Google. At the time you are reading this line, around 3,500 people have already searched for “YouTube” on Google from the USA only.

Launched in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, YouTube quickly became popular for video content worldwide.

3. Google Blog

Google Blog is the official website run by Google that shares reliable tech news, Google product launches, and industry trends across topics such as search algorithms and AI.

4. Reddit

Reddit is the 4th most cited domain in AI Overviews and the #1 most cited domain in ChatGPT. It is a popular social news aggregation and discussion platform where users share news, stories, opinions, and ideas across thousands of niche communities. Founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, Reddit allows anyone to participate by posting content or engaging in discussions on almost any topic.

5. Google

Google is the world’s #1 search engine, where users can find information, AI overviews, websites, and answers. It was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and became popular for its fast and reliable search results.

6. Amazon

Amazon is the world’s biggest online store, where you can buy and sell millions of products. It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and became popular for its fast delivery and easy shopping.

7. Quora

Quora is a popular Q&A website where anyone can ask questions and read answers from experts and regular Quora users. Launched in 2009 by Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever, it became well known for providing helpful answers to most questions.

8. Facebook

Facebook is a popular social network where you can connect with friends, share photos, and follow pages. Launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, it became one of the biggest platforms for connecting with people online.

9. Yelp

Yelp is a popular online review platform where people read and write reviews about local businesses like restaurants, shops, and more. Started in 2004 by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, it gained popularity for providing honest reviews from real users.

10. Instagram

Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing social network where anyone can post pictures, reels, and stories. Launched in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, it became famous for its reels, filters, and stories.

How to track AI Citation for a Domain?

Tracking AI citations is hard without tools because AI answers don’t always mention their sources. That’s why we use Semrush. It helps track domain mentions and visibility in AI results in one place. 

How to Use Semrush to Track AI Citation?

Here’s a simple step-by-step tutorial on tracking AI citation using Semrush.  

Step 1: Log in to Semrush and check AI visibility

If you don’t have an account, use our exclusive Semrush free trial to create a free account. 

Once it’s done, click on AI < Visibility Overview and enter your domain name, and then click on the “Check AI Visibility” button. 

Step 2: Check your visibility score

Semrush’s AI visibility tool will instantly provide an AI Visibility score that measures how often your website appears in AI-generated answers across topics.

Here, you’ll see two options to track your AI visibility.

• Mentions (The total number of prompts that trigger AI responses mentioning your brand)
• Cited Pages (Your domain’s pages cited in AI-generated answers)

Step 3: Find missing topics

If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see the “Missing” tab under Topics & Prompts. This shows topics where competitors are mentioned by AI, but your domain is not, highlighting clear content gaps to fix.

For more details, see the official Semrush tutorial on tracking your AI visibility.

Final Words

Wikipedia leads the list of the most cited domains in AI mode with a huge share of 11,35,007 citations. This clearly shows the importance of AI platforms sourcing answers from credible, community-verified sources.

As AI continues to evolve, community-driven platforms like Wikipedia, YouTube, Reddit, Quora, etc, are becoming key sources that help AI learn from real human knowledge.

What are your thoughts on AI citations? Let us know your views in the comments. 

FAQs

Here are some FAQs on the AI cited domains.