Perplexity has stopped citing Reddit: from 5.6% of its answers to 0.1% in nine weeks
It did not happen at once. It went down every week, with the same brands and the same questions.
Between weeks 33 and 41 of 2026 we measured the same 770 questions in Spanish about 9 brands every week on Perplexity. The share of answers citing reddit.com fell from 5.6% (43 of 770) to 0.1% (1 of 770). Sources per answer did not fall: they stayed around 18. The engine does not cite less; it has stopped citing Reddit. On Google AI Mode Reddit carried little weight and also falls, from 1.4% to 0.3%.
- Sample
- Perplexity: 9 brands and 770 fixed questions, 6,930 answers. Google AI Mode: 8 brands and 627 fixed questions
- Period
- Weeks 33 to 41 of 2026 (10 August to 5 October)
- Method
- Closed panel: it includes the brands measured in all nine weeks on that engine (at least 60 answers a week) and only the questions asked, with the same wording, in all nine weeks. For each answer with sources we check whether any citation goes to reddit.com. YouTube and sources per answer are counted too, to tell whether the engine cites less or cites other things. Same transport and model throughout (Perplexity API, sonar).
- Language
- Spanish: questions and answers
Where it comes from
A summary of an Ahrefs study on ChatGPT in the US is going around this week: Reddit would have gone from appearing in 1 in 5 answers to 1 in 43 in six months, and Wikipedia from 1 in 7 to 1 in 35. We have not been able to read that study at its source, so we take it as neither right nor wrong. What we did do is check whether something similar happens in our data, in Spanish and on other engines.
Perplexity, week by week
| Week | Answers | Citing Reddit | Share citing Reddit | Citing YouTube | Sources per answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-W33 | 770 | 43 | 5.6 % | 31.0 % | 17.8 |
| 2026-W34 | 770 | 34 | 4.4 % | 1.0 % | 18.0 |
| 2026-W35 | 770 | 34 | 4.4 % | 2.1 % | 18.2 |
| 2026-W36 | 770 | 28 | 3.6 % | 0.9 % | 18.2 |
| 2026-W37 | 770 | 25 | 3.2 % | 1.2 % | 17.8 |
| 2026-W38 | 770 | 16 | 2.1 % | 0.8 % | 18.5 |
| 2026-W39 | 770 | 6 | 0.8 % | 0.4 % | 18.4 |
| 2026-W40 | 770 | 2 | 0.3 % | 0.5 % | 18.4 |
| 2026-W41 | 770 | 1 | 0.1 % | 0.3 % | 19.2 |
In the first three weeks, Reddit appeared in 4.8% of answers (95% confidence interval: 4–5.8%). In the last three, in 0.4% (0.2–0.7%). The intervals do not touch. At the start Reddit showed up in answers for 7 of the 9 brands; at the end, for 4, and almost always just once.
It is a different fall from YouTube's on the same engine. YouTube went from 31% to 1% from one week to the next, between weeks 33 and 34. Reddit went down little by little over two months.
Google AI Mode: it falls too, but it is harder to read
On Google AI Mode Reddit never carried much weight: it was in 1.4% of answers at the start of the period and 0.3% at the end. But in those same weeks Google went from giving about 12.4 sources per answer to about 4.4, so here the fall of Reddit cannot be separated from the engine citing less overall.
What it means for a brand
For two years people have repeated that being on Reddit helps AI cite you. On Perplexity, with our questions, that route has almost disappeared: in week 41 Reddit showed up in 1 answer out of 770. That does not mean the engine does not read Reddit. We measure what it cites, not what it reads, and Ahrefs has published that ChatGPT retrieves many Reddit pages but hardly ever cites them (summary in Search Engine Journal).
In practice: if someone sells you a Reddit campaign to appear on Perplexity, ask them to show you which answers cite Reddit today. And look at which sources the engine cites in your sector: they are the ones taking the place Reddit left.
What we changed in the engine
From this week we also store the searches ChatGPT runs when it searches the web before answering. They show which words it uses to search your sector and whether it looks for brands' official websites, which is what the summary of the Ahrefs study says is happening in the US.
What this finding does NOT prove
- These are 9 brands from a single portfolio, in Spanish and in Spain, with buying questions about their sector. On opinion or consumer questions, Reddit may weigh much more.
- We measure what the engine cites, not what it reads to answer. Perplexity may still use Reddit without linking to it.
- We measure Perplexity through its API (sonar model). The Perplexity app may use another model and other sources.
- We do not know why it happened. It may be a Perplexity decision, a change in what it indexes or a deal between companies. The data only says that it happened.
- We stop at week 41 because on 12 October Perplexity began giving about 10 sources per answer instead of about 18. Reddit does not appear that week either, but we do not count it.
- It does not confirm the Ahrefs study, which is about ChatGPT in the US. For ChatGPT with web search we have too few answers per week for a closed panel.
Frequently asked questions
Does Perplexity still cite Reddit?
Almost never. In our panel of 9 brands and 770 questions in Spanish, the share of Perplexity answers citing reddit.com fell from 5.6% in week 33 to 0.1% in week 41 of 2026.
Does Perplexity cite fewer sources than before?
Not in that period. It kept giving about 18 sources per answer: it stopped citing Reddit and cited other things. Since 12 October it gives about 10, which is a separate change that we track on its own.
Does being on Reddit help you appear in AI answers?
On Perplexity, in our data, hardly any more: in week 41 Reddit showed up in 1 answer out of 770. The engine may still read it without citing it, but if what you want is a link in the answer, today you need to look at which other sources it cites in your sector.
Does the same happen on Google AI Mode?
Reddit falls too, from 1.4% to 0.3% of answers, but in those weeks Google cut the sources per answer sharply, so one cannot be separated from the other.