04/09/2026
You can have a strong website, invest in SEO and publish consistently, and still wonder why competitors keep appearing in AI-generated recommendations while your business doesn’t.
One reason may be where AI is getting its information from.
Semrush’s AI Visibility study found that every industry has its own “Citation Core.” In simple terms, think of it as the group of specialist websites and sources that AI repeatedly refers back to when answering questions about a particular industry.
So when someone asks AI, “What’s the best option for this?” or “Which company should I consider?”, it isn’t necessarily relying on company websites alone. It may be looking at the publishers, review platforms and specialist sources that already have influence in that space.
And the Citation Core changes depending on the industry.
For automotive, sources like Cars.com, Carfax, Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book feature heavily. In travel, Tripadvisor accounts for 30% of travel citations on ChatGPT and 38% on Google AI Mode. In sports, ESPN accounts for around 24–30% of citations.
That’s where the challenge for businesses comes in.
You might be saying all the right things on your own website, but if competitors are being reviewed, referenced or featured across the sources AI regularly turns to, and you’re not, the answer a potential customer receives may favour them before that customer even reaches your site.
So building visibility now means understanding more than your rankings.
- Which sources matter in your industry?
- Is your brand appearing in them?
- Who is being mentioned instead?
Because as AI becomes another route customers use to research businesses, being visible in the right places may matter just as much as having the right content on your own website.
At ZELLIS, we help businesses look at the wider digital picture, identify where visibility is being lost and uncover practical opportunities to strengthen how customers discover and evaluate their brand.
📞 Book a discovery call with us at zellis.com.au�🔗 Source: Semrush AI Visibility Index Mini Study, 2026.