Review platform citation analysis: ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and Copilot

Which review platforms are most cited in conversational AI?

Research from Hall can reveal what the most cited review platforms are in AI responses across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Microsoft Copilot.

Conversational AI is reshaping purchasing journeys for consumers and companies. Users now rely on ChatGPT and similar platforms to evaluate solutions, compare alternatives, and make buying decisions.

While this shift has reduced traffic from traditional search, AI-driven referrals convert at higher rates due to increased buyer intent and product knowledge.

To provide the best answers to their users, these AI platforms need to look beyond the training data in their foundation models to seek out referencable perspectives and opinions of real people on the web. AI platforms are naturally turning to user-contributed review platforms such as G2, Capterra, and TripAdvisor.

For marketers wanting to maximize their impact in these high-intent and high-conversion conversations happening in AI, we set out to answer the question: which review platforms should I be focusing on?

Methodology

We analyzed 456,570 citations from answers across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Microsoft Copilot from 18 May 2025 to 18 June 2025 for the United States.

These answers were in response to questions where the user intent is to evaluate, compare, or seek input on a decision.

To uncover granular insights into the top performing review platforms across verticals, we additionally segmented questions into three categories: B2B software and SaaS, Digital services and agencies, and Travel, hospitality, and local services.

Citations where review platforms have localized top-level domains (TLDs) have been collapsed into a single property.

B2B software and SaaS

Our data for B2B software and SaaS reveals platform-specific preferences across AI search engines, with GetApp emerging as the dominant force while traditional leaders like G2 show surprisingly varied performance.

ChatGPT

GetApp commands nearly half of all review platform citations in ChatGPT (47.65%), establishing clear dominance in software discovery conversations. G2, despite its market reputation, holds just 8.25% of citations.

Perplexity

GetApp maintains its leadership position with 39.74% of citations, though less dominantly than in ChatGPT. Gartner’s strong 18.06% showing reflects Perplexity’s emphasis on authoritative research sources.

Google AI Overviews

Slashdot’s notable 16.62% presence highlights the platform’s strength in technical community discussions that Google values. TrustRadius achieves its strongest showing at 6.35%.

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot presents the most distinctive citation pattern, with SourceForge leading at 21.33% and Software Advice at 16.97%. G2 performs moderately at 11.70%.

Digital services and agencies

In digital services and agencies, there is remarkable consistency across AI platforms, with Clutch establishing unprecedented dominance in agency discovery. This vertical demonstrates the clearest platform preferences of any category analyzed, reflecting the specialized nature of the category.

ChatGPT

Clutch commands an overwhelming 84.5% of citations, establishing near-total dominance in agency recommendations within ChatGPT. GoodFirms captures 14.9% as the only other platform with meaningful representation, suggesting ChatGPT recognizes these two as the primary authorities for service provider evaluation.

Perplexity

Clutch maintains strong leadership with 66.0% of citations, though with less dominance than in ChatGPT, allowing for more diverse sourcing. GoodFirms secures 29.9% of citations, creating a clear two-platform duopoly that accounts for 95.9% of all agency-related review citations.

Google AI Overviews

Clutch shows slightly reduced dominance at 77.6%, still strong but lower than ChatGPT’s 84.5%, reflecting Google’s preference for more diverse source integration even in specialized verticals. GoodFirms holds 20.5% of citations, maintaining its position as the secondary authority for agency reviews across Google’s AI-powered results.

Microsoft Copilot

Clutch leads with 72.0% while GoodFirms captures 24.3%, creating the most balanced distribution between the two dominant platforms. The concentration remains overwhelming, with the top two platforms controlling 96.3% of citations, demonstrating consistent AI platform recognition of specialized agency review authorities.

Travel, hospitality, and local services

The travel and local services sector reveals the most concentrated review platform landscape of any vertical analyzed, with TripAdvisor achieving near-monopolistic dominance across all AI platforms. This category demonstrates how specialized, industry-focused review platforms can maintain overwhelming authority even as AI search diversifies citation patterns in other verticals.

ChatGPT

TripAdvisor commands an extraordinary 87.9% of citations, establishing the strongest platform dominance observed across any vertical in this analysis. Yelp captures 8.7% as the only other platform with meaningful representation, creating a clear two-platform hierarchy for local and travel-related queries.

Perplexity

TripAdvisor maintains strong leadership with 72.9% of citations, though showing the most balanced distribution among AI platforms in this vertical. Yelp secures 27.1% of citations, creating an effective duopoly that accounts for 100% of meaningful review platform citations in travel and local services.

Google AI Overviews

TripAdvisor achieves its highest dominance at 94.2%, surpassing even ChatGPT’s impressive showing and demonstrating Google’s strong relationship with the travel review platform. Yelp holds just 3.4% of citations, its lowest representation across all AI platforms, while TrustPilot manages 2.3% as the only other platform with any presence.

Microsoft Copilot

TripAdvisor leads with 80.4% while Yelp captures 14.3%, creating the most balanced distribution between the two dominant platforms in this vertical. TrustPilot shows its strongest performance at 5.2%, representing the highest penetration for general review platforms in travel-related queries.

Which review platforms encourage AI crawlers?

Review platforms provide directives to AI companies about how their systems and crawlers access and use their content through their robots.txt files. All of the leading AI companies are on record as complying with these directives.

This analysis reveals a clear divide in the industry. Platforms like Yelp and Trustpilot block AI crawlers entirely, while others like G2, Gartner, and Capterra take a middle path, allowing AI access for search purposes but prohibiting model training on their user-generated content. Meanwhile, platforms such as Clutch, SourceForge, and TrustRadius welcome all AI crawling without restrictions.

This split gives us an insight into the concerns facing review platforms. Review platforms have invested heavily in building communities and collecting user feedback. They own and are protective of this content, and AI fundamentally threatens their traffic-driven revenue models. When users can get restaurant recommendations or software comparisons directly from ChatGPT, why visit the original review site? Some review platforms see AI as an existential challenge to their core business.

For review platforms, blocking crawlers isn’t just about protecting intellectual property – it’s also about negotiation power. Many companies are likely holding out for lucrative licensing deals or strategic partnerships. We’ve already seen this play out with OpenAI striking content partnerships with major publishers like The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. These deals provide guaranteed revenue streams while maintaining some control over how their content gets used.

This creates a problem for marketers deciding on which review platforms to focus on. If you’re encouraging customers to leave reviews, you want those reviews to appear when AI platforms answer questions about your industry. Trustpilot might have strong brand recognition, but if it blocks AI crawlers, your five-star reviews there won’t help when potential customers ask ChatGPT for recommendations. You’re building authority that AI can’t access.

The review platforms embracing limited AI access recognize a reality: complete blocking might make them invisible as search shifts toward AI. By allowing search crawling while protecting training data, they stay visible without surrendering their competitive advantages. This also keeps doors open for future partnership discussions.

Key takeaways

The data reveals clear patterns for marketers deciding where to concentrate their review strategy efforts. The answer depends heavily on your industry vertical and understanding how AI platforms actually cite sources.

Industry-specific platforms consistently outperform generalist sites. Specialized review platforms dominate citations in their respective sectors across all AI platforms, suggesting marketers should prioritize vertical expertise over broad market presence when choosing where to build their review presence.

AI crawler policies directly impact visibility. Review sites that block AI access eliminate their potential to influence AI-powered recommendations, regardless of review quality or quantity. This creates a new consideration beyond traditional SEO factors when evaluating platform investments.

Different AI platforms favor different sources. Citation patterns vary significantly between ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Microsoft Copilot, meaning the most effective strategy may involve understanding which AI platforms your target audience uses most frequently.

Citation trends remain highly dynamic. Both AI search algorithms and review platform policies continue to evolve rapidly. These findings represent a snapshot from May-June 2025, and citation patterns may shift as platforms update their crawling policies and AI platforms refine their source preferences.

As AI reshapes how customers discover and evaluate solutions, the review platforms that conversational AI trusts become increasingly important for influencing purchase decisions. The most recognizable platform isn’t necessarily the most valuable if AI platforms can’t access or cite your reviews when answering user questions.