ChatGPT Brand Mentions vs. Citations: What Triggers Visibility

Data Collected: Analysed thousands of ChatGPT prompts using BrightEdge AI Catalyst to compare brand mentions, citations, and trigger words

Key Finding: ChatGPT mentions brands 3.2x more than it cites them. Nearly half of prompts contain zero brand mentions, but commercial intent language (e.g., “deals,” “where to buy”) drives 4–8x higher mentions than informational queries.

ChatGPT Brand Mention Patterns:

• 2.4 average brand mentions per prompt
• 44% of prompts = zero brand mentions
• Only 3% of prompts = 10+ brand mentions
• 0.74 citations per prompt → unlinked recommendations dominate
• “Best” queries = 4.8 mentions (2x higher than baseline), but 25% still return zero brands

Trigger Word Impact:

• High performers: “where,” “find,” “cheap,” “deals,” “affordable”
• Moderate: “best” (popular but inconsistent)
• Low performers: “how,” “what,” “cost”

Examples:

• “Best Cyber Monday electronics deals” → 21 mentions
• “Best Prime Day deals” → 20 mentions
• “Educational tools/tech queries” → 17–21 mentions
• Transactional queries outpace informational by 8–10x

Platform Recommendation Patterns:

• Mentions are more stable than citations, reducing volatility risk
• Commercial queries consistently outperform informational ones
• Educational and deal-related queries produce unexpected visibility opportunities