How ChatGPT answers a buying question
ChatGPT gets a huge number of shopping questions. OpenAI said in September 2026 that 1.2 billion people use it every week. OpenAI's own research, as reported by eMarketer in October 2025, found about 2% of ChatGPT conversations are about products or services to buy. At the 2.5 billion messages a day OpenAI reported in July 2025, that works out to roughly 50 million shopping questions a day, on ChatGPT alone. That is our estimate from OpenAI's numbers.
When a shopper asks something like "best wool socks for hiking", ChatGPT often splits it into several smaller searches, reads a handful of pages and writes one answer that names a few brands. Ahrefs' research on AI citations found ChatGPT leans most on publishers and news outlets, so editorial roundups and "best X" lists matter a lot. It also tends to list newer sources first, so fresh pages help.
ChatGPT now shows ads on its Free and Go plans, including in Australia and New Zealand. OpenAI says the ads sit below the answer, are labelled, and that advertisers cannot change what the answer recommends. The recommendation itself has to be earned.
- Quotes most: publishers, news sites and roundups
- The bot that decides if you appear in ChatGPT search: OAI-SearchBot
- Clicks from ChatGPT can be tracked as their own channel
How Google AI Overviews answer a buying question
AI Overviews are the AI answer at the top of a Google search. Google said in May 2026 that they reach over 2.5 billion people a month. Shoppers don't need to open a separate app: the answer appears on searches they were already doing.
AI Overviews pull heavily from pages that already rank well. Ahrefs' study found 76% of AI Overview citations come from pages in Google's top 10, so normal search work is the foundation here. The same research found AI Overviews lean on YouTube, Reddit and Quora more than the other assistants do.
Unlike ChatGPT, Google sells ad space inside the answer. Google's Ads Help says ads can appear above, below or within AI Overviews, and that this is available in Australia and New Zealand. The organic mention is still earned, but you are competing with paid slots on the same screen.
- Quotes most: YouTube, Reddit, Quora and top-ranking pages
- The bot that matters: Googlebot
- Visits from AI Overviews look like normal Google traffic in your analytics
How Perplexity answers a buying question
Perplexity works like a research assistant. It searches the web, writes a short answer and shows its sources as numbered links. That makes it easy for a shopper to click through and check.
We don't have a current, reliable figure for how many people use Perplexity, so we won't guess. What Ahrefs' research does show is that Perplexity leans on niche and regional sites more than ChatGPT or Google. A specialist blog, a local review site or an Australian buying guide can carry more weight here than in the other two. Like ChatGPT, it tends to list newer sources first.
- Quotes most: niche blogs and regional sites
- The bot that matters: PerplexityBot
- Sources are shown clearly, so being cited often means a visible link
What all three assistants have in common
The overlap is smaller than most store owners expect. In Ahrefs' study of the 50 most-cited sites on each platform, only 7 appeared on all three lists. A roundup that gets you named in ChatGPT may do nothing for Google, and the reverse.
Some things help everywhere. All three favour pages that answer the question clearly in the first lines, name products exactly, and make sense in short chunks. All three give weight to consensus: when many credible sites say the same thing about a brand, AI is more likely to repeat it. And all three need to be able to read your store, so a robots.txt rule or firewall setting that blocks their bots can quietly hide you.
None of them should be gamed. Avoid fake reviews, posting on Reddit as a pretend customer, buying links and stuffing keywords: stick to honest mentions and clear pages.
Which one to care about first
Start with ChatGPT if you want clicks you can see and count. Store owners who track AI separately often find ChatGPT sends nearly all of it. Canadian jeweller Draco Diamond told Digital Commerce 360 in August 2026 that 84% of its AI referral traffic came from ChatGPT. Gifting retailer Edible Brands told the same outlet in September 2026 that about 95% of its AI referrals came from ChatGPT.
Work on Google AI Overviews at the same time if you already get decent Google traffic. Because most of its citations come from top-ranking pages, good search habits carry straight over. The catch is measurement: you mostly can't separate AI Overview visits from normal Google visits.
Treat Perplexity as a bonus that grows from the same effort, unless you sell something specialist or local. If your category has strong niche blogs or regional guides, Perplexity may be where you show up first.
- Selling a considered purchase people research: ChatGPT first
- Strong Google rankings already: AI Overviews are your quickest win
- Niche or local product: give Perplexity more attention
- Video-friendly product: YouTube reviews help most with Google
How to see where you stand in each one
Ask each assistant the real questions your shoppers ask, such as "best unscented beard oil in Australia", and note who gets named and which sites get quoted. Ask more than once, because answers change from run to run. Then look at the sources each one used: those are the pages worth pitching honestly, joining as yourself, or getting listed on.
Check your robots.txt lets in Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot. Blocking GPTBot only affects training, not whether ChatGPT can recommend you. A free tool like GEO's AI Visibility Checker shows who ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend for your product and who they pick instead.
Key takeaways
- Google AI Overviews reach the most people, but visits from them look like normal Google traffic.
- ChatGPT often sends most of the trackable AI clicks a store gets, and its recommendations can't be bought.
- Perplexity leans on niche and regional sites, which can suit specialist stores.
- Each assistant quotes different sites, so work out which sources each one uses for your questions.
- Make sure Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot can all read your store.
Questions people ask
Can I pay to be recommended in ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT shows labelled ads below some answers on its Free and Go plans, but OpenAI says advertisers cannot shape or change the answer itself. Being named in the answer is earned from what ChatGPT can read about your products.
Can I pay to appear in Google AI Overviews?
You can buy ad space, but not the organic mention. Google's Ads Help says ads can appear above, below or within AI Overviews, including in Australia and New Zealand. The brands named in the answer itself still come from the pages Google trusts.
Why does ChatGPT name my competitor but Google doesn't?
Each assistant leans on different sources. Ahrefs' research found ChatGPT favours publishers and news sites, while Google AI Overviews lean on YouTube, Reddit and Quora. Your competitor may simply be mentioned on the sites one assistant trusts.
How do I know if AI Overviews send me sales?
Mostly you can't tell directly, because Google sends AI Overview visits the same way as normal search visits. A "How did you hear about us?" question at checkout helps fill the gap. ChatGPT and Perplexity visits are easier to track as their own channel.
Should I ignore Perplexity?
Not entirely. It tends to quote niche and regional sites, so specialist and local stores can do well there. Much of the work for ChatGPT and Google, like clear product pages and genuine mentions, helps with Perplexity too.
Sources
- OpenAI DevDay 2026 recap (opens in a new tab)
- eMarketer (opens in a new tab)
- TechCrunch (opens in a new tab)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads in ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)
- OpenAI (opens in a new tab)
- Google blog: Sundar Pichai at I/O 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Google Ads Help (opens in a new tab)
- Digital Commerce 360 (opens in a new tab)
- Digital Commerce 360 (opens in a new tab)
Every number in this article comes from one of these pages. Written by the GEO team with help from AI, and checked against our facts sheet and these sources before publishing. Nothing here is a promise of results.
