Which AI Platform Recommends Your Industry?
How ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI Overviews handle recommendations differently. Only 11% domain overlap between platforms.
Key finding
Different AI platforms recommend different businesses for the same queries. Only 11% of domains cited by ChatGPT also appear in Perplexity results. Only 13.7% overlap exists between AI Overviews and AI Mode. Optimising for one platform does not guarantee visibility on another.
Why platform differences matter
Most businesses treat "AI search" as a single channel. It is not. Each AI platform draws from different data sources and applies different ranking logic. A law firm that dominates ChatGPT may be absent from Perplexity. A SaaS company cited by Gemini may never appear in AI Overviews.
Understanding which platform matters most for your industry is the first step in spending your optimisation budget well.
Platform strengths by industry
| Industry | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B Services | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| Legal | Strong | Low | Strong (local) | Moderate |
| Tech/SaaS | Moderate | Strong | Moderate | Strong |
| Finance | Moderate | Strong | Moderate | Strong |
| Healthcare | Low | Low | Moderate | Strong |
| Local Services | Moderate | Low | Strong | Moderate |
| Consumer/Retail | Moderate | Strong | Moderate | Moderate |
| Property | Strong | Moderate | Strong (local) | Low |
What drives these differences
ChatGPT relies on Bing's index for real-time data. This makes it strong for B2B where Bing has solid coverage. It is weaker for industries where Bing's index is thinner. Perplexity favours industries with active Reddit and forum discussion. This gives it an edge in tech, finance, and consumer sectors. Gemini uses Google's full index. It is strong for local business recommendations via Google Business Profile data. AI Overviews favour established authorities that already rank well in traditional Google search.
The cross-platform citation gap
Our data shows very little overlap between platforms. Only 11% of domains that ChatGPT cites also appear in Perplexity results for the same queries. The gap between AI Overviews and AI Mode is just 13.7%. Performing well on one platform does not mean you are visible on others.
For a detailed comparison, see our ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Gemini comparison. For the full cross-platform data, explore our cross-platform citation gap analysis.
What to do with this data
Find out which platform your target audience uses. B2B buyers lean towards ChatGPT. Tech-savvy consumers increasingly use Perplexity. Gemini dominates local searches via Google's ecosystem. Then focus your optimisation effort there. Do not spread budget thinly across all platforms.
Oliver Mackman
AI Search Analyst, SEOCompare
Oliver leads SEOCompare's editorial and comparison research. With over a decade in digital marketing, he oversees agency evaluation, tool testing, and AI search data analysis.
Last reviewed: 7 April 2026
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