What the Data Tells Us About ChatGPT and Citations

Search Engine Journal recently reported on new data from Similarweb that shows how often ChatGPT includes links in its answers — and the numbers vary wildly depending on the topic. Travel questions got citations in more than one in five answers, while education topics got links less than five percent of the time. This tells us that AI chatbots are not treating all industries equally when it comes to sending traffic to websites.

For Australian businesses, this is a wake-up call. If your website relies on being found through AI tools like ChatGPT, you cannot assume a one-size-fits-all approach. The data shows that topics like travel, retail, and finance are seeing far more citations than education, technology, or health. Understanding where your industry sits in this ranking is the first step toward building a smarter online strategy.

Why AI SEO Requires a Different Approach

Traditional SEO has always been about pleasing the Google algorithm — keywords, backlinks, page speed, and authority signals. But with AI models like ChatGPT, the rules are different. These models pull information from a wide range of sources, but they do not always link back to the original website. When they do link, they tend to favour certain content types: reviews, user-generated content, and news sites appear most often.

This means that simply ranking on Google is no longer enough. Businesses need to think about how AI models discover and cite their content. For example, if you run a travel business in Australia, the data suggests that getting mentioned on review sites or user forums could be more valuable than a traditional blog post. For education providers, the low citation rate means you need to work harder to get your content into the small pool of answers that include links.

What This Means for Australian SMBs

Australian small and mid-sized businesses often operate with limited marketing budgets. Every dollar spent on content needs to show a return. The Similarweb data, as reported by Search Engine Journal, shows that AI citation rates are not just low — they are unpredictable. One month, the overall rate climbed above six percent, then dropped, then climbed again. Relying on AI citations as a primary traffic source is risky.

For Australian travel operators, the higher citation rate is good news — but it also means more competition for those links. For businesses in education, technology, or health, the low rate means you cannot afford to ignore traditional SEO and Google rankings. The smart move is to treat AI visibility as a bonus, not a replacement for proven search engine strategies.

What You Can Do Now

  • Audit your content for formats that AI models tend to cite — such as reviews, how-to guides, and authoritative news-style articles within your niche.
  • Focus on building credibility on third-party platforms like TripAdvisor, industry forums, or local business directories, especially if you are in travel or retail.
  • Create topic-specific, high-quality content that answers common questions in your field — AI models prefer clear, factual, and well-structured information.
  • Monitor your website analytics to see if any traffic is coming from AI tools — if not, adjust your content strategy to target the types of sources that get cited most in your industry.
  • Keep investing in traditional Google SEO as your main foundation, since AI citation rates are still low overall and can change rapidly.

Navigating the shift toward AI-powered search requires ongoing attention. At MS&VG, our AI-powered SEO service helps Australian businesses understand where their content fits in the new landscape — so you can adapt without losing ground. Contact us to learn more.