SEO does not decide what AI cites. It decides whether it names you
We searched Google for the same 936 questions we measure on AI every week and crossed the two.
With 936 questions from 10 Spanish companies, the sites cited by Perplexity, Copilot and ChatGPT are in Google's top 10 for that same question only 11–13% of the time (Google AI Mode, 29.5%). But when the company's site is in the top 10 for a question, AI names it in 36% of answers; when it is not, in 9%. It holds for all 9 companies that had any top-10 result.
- Sample
- 10 Spanish companies, 936 questions without the company name, 7,357 AI answers
- Period
- AI answers from 12 October to 2 November 2026; Google checked on 3 November
- Method
- Each question we measure on AI was searched as written on Google Spain, desktop, and we stored the organic top 10 and the AI Overview sources. For each AI answer with sources we check what share of the sites it cites are in that top 10. And for each question, depending on whether the company site is in the top 10, we compare how often AI names it. Counted per answer; prompts naming the brand excluded; ChatGPT only when it searches the web.
- Language
- Spanish: questions and answers
Where it comes from
On 2 November Álvaro Peña de Luna published a test with one question ("best running shoes for beginners") on Google and three AI engines, and concluded there is no GEO without SEO because AI reads what ranks. One question cannot settle that. We were already measuring hundreds of questions on AI every week, so we searched them all on Google.
What AI cites is rarely in the top 10
| Engine | Answers | Cited sites in Google top 10 | Cited URLs in Google top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | 3,469 | 11.0 % | 4.2 % |
| Copilot | 741 | 11.4 % | 4.9 % |
| ChatGPT (with search) | 218 | 13.0 % | 6.3 % |
| Google AI Mode | 2,929 | 29.5 % | 18.2 % |
| AI Overview | — | 62.6 % | — |
Of the sites Perplexity cites in an answer, only 11% appear in Google's top 10 for that same question; looking at the exact page, 4.2%. Copilot and ChatGPT with search give similar figures. Google AI Mode, which is Google's own, gets closer: 29.5%. And the AI Overview, the summary above the results in 90.8% of these searches, takes 62.6% of its sources from the top 10.
Put another way: outside Google, AI draws on another library. Directories, comparisons, small media, forums, pages that are not on the first page of results.
But being in the top 10 does show
For 226 of the 936 questions the measured company's site was in Google's top 10. On those, AI named the company in 36% of answers (766 of 2,130; 95% confidence interval: 34–38%). On the rest, in 9% (535 of 5,968; 8.3–9.7%). In the top 3, 39.2%.
It is not an average pulled by one client: for all 9 companies with any question in the top 10, AI names them more on those questions than on the rest. The tenth had none and AI names it on none.
What it means for a brand
Ranking does not guarantee AI cites your site: most likely it cites others. But the questions where your site ranks are, by far, the ones where AI recommends you. There are two readings and probably both are true: AI searches and finds the same things Google does, and a company that ranks on a topic also appears on the third-party sites AI does cite.
In practice it tells you where to start on each question. If you are in the top 10 and AI does not name you, Google already sees you and the work is GEO: the sources AI reads, a direct answer on your page, authority beyond your site. If you are not in the top 10, start with that page's SEO.
What we changed in the engine
From today the dashboard searches Google once a month for the same questions we measure on AI, and labels each one: in Google and AI names you; in Google and AI does not name you; neither in Google nor in AI; or AI names you without being in the top 10.
What this finding does NOT prove
- It is correlation. A company strong on a topic tends to be strong on Google and on AI at once; this does not show that climbing on Google makes AI name you.
- The questions are written the way people talk to an AI, not how they search Google. With short searches the top 10 would be different.
- Google was checked on a single day (3 November 2026), from Spain and on desktop. The AI answers are from the previous three weeks. The top 10 moves too.
- These are 10 companies from one portfolio, in Spanish. One of them weighs heavily in the total because AI names it often; that is why we also checked the result company by company.
- We measure what AI cites, not what it reads to answer. It may read top-10 pages without linking them.
- There are only 218 answers from ChatGPT with search, from a monthly pass: its figure is the least firm in the table.
Frequently asked questions
Does AI cite the sites that rank on Google?
Not much. In our 936 questions, only 11% of the sites Perplexity cites are in Google's top 10 for that same question; Copilot 11.4%, ChatGPT with search 13% and Google AI Mode 29.5%. The AI Overview does: 62.6%.
Does SEO help you appear in AI answers?
It shows. When a company's site is in Google's top 10 for a question, AI names it in 36% of answers; when it is not, in 9%. It is a correlation, not proof of cause.
Where do I start: SEO or GEO?
It depends on each question. If you are already in Google's top 10 and AI does not name you, the work is GEO. If you are not in the top 10, start with that page's SEO.