Research

AI search research: original studies on who AI engines cite

  • 2,000 AI answers read in our Houston study

Every piece of AI search research here ships with its method attached.

of Houston's 50,000 Realtors were never named in 2,000 AI answers

Photo: Drones Flown, Pexels

Published

Houston Real Estate AI Visibility: the 500-Query Study

Our newest study. We put 500 real estate queries covering 40 Houston areas to ChatGPT, Gemini (web), Gemini (API-based) and Perplexity and extracted every agent and firm each answer named. A labelled estimate puts the real agents, teams and brokerages named at roughly 3,000, and 82.6% of them appeared in just one of the 40 areas. Full method, row-level data and a searchable list of every name.

Read with Houston November 2026 report150-query real estate studyopen list of cited domainsreal estate SEO statistics 2026181-brand studyGPTBot 429 case study

Read the study

original studies, published in full

This is our own AI search research, run in-house and published in full. We tell clients that original data is the most reliably cited thing a brand can publish, so we publish ours. Every study here states its sample, its method, its dates and what it cannot tell you. All of it is CC BY 4.0, so you can reuse the numbers with attribution.

Original studies, newest first

  • 94%Houston 500-query study
  • 94.9%Houston November 2026 report
  • 1,297open list of cited domains
  • 0 of 8GPTBot 429 case study
  • 83%150-query real estate study
  • 87%181-brand study

Every one states its sample, its method, its dates and what it cannot tell you. All of it is CC BY 4.0.

  1. 94.9%

    of Houston's 50,000-plus Realtors were never named in the October round, which put the questions to three engines

    Published

    Houston Real Estate AI Visibility Report, November 2026

    Round 2 of the Houston study: neighbourhoods and suburbs put to ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, with every firm they named and the data to check it.

    Read with Houston 500-query study150-query real estate studyopen list of cited domainsreal estate SEO statistics 2026181-brand studyGPTBot 429 case study

    Read the study

  2. 1,297

    domains cited, published as an open list with per-engine counts

    Published

    Which Domains AI Cites on Real Estate Questions

    The open list of every website five AI engines cited across 747 measured answers, with per-engine counts, engine reach and site type for each one. All four property portals together drew 35 citations, fewer than YouTube alone. Filterable on the page, complete as a CSV under CC BY.

    Read with Houston November 2026 reportHouston 500-query study150-query real estate studyreal estate SEO statistics 2026181-brand studyGPTBot 429 case study

    Read the study

  3. 0 of 8

    cache-miss requests GPTBot got through, while every other crawler got 8 of 8

    Published

    Hostinger CDN Blocks GPTBot: an HTTP 429 Case Study

    A platform-level CDN rule returns HTTP 429 to GPTBot before a request reaches origin, confirmed in writing by the host. The measured evidence, the three wrong turns it took to diagnose, the ticket, and a reproducible method for testing any host.

    Read with Houston November 2026 reportHouston 500-query study150-query real estate studyopen list of cited domainsreal estate SEO statistics 2026181-brand study

    Read the study

  4. 83%

    of cited domains reach only one engine

    Published

    The 150-Query Real Estate AI Search Study

    We put 150 real estate search questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Copilot and recorded every source each one cited. Across 747 measurements the engines cited 1297 domains, and only 3 were cited by all five. Full method, row-level data and limitations.

    Read with Houston November 2026 reportHouston 500-query studyopen list of cited domainsreal estate SEO statistics 2026181-brand studyGPTBot 429 case study

    Read the study

  5. 87%

    absent from all four AI engines

    Published

    The 181-Brand AI Visibility Study

    We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini a buying question about 181 United States ecommerce brands, using each brand's own category. 158 of them were named by none of the four. Full method, sample, data and limitations.

    Read with Houston November 2026 reportHouston 500-query study150-query real estate studyopen list of cited domainsreal estate SEO statistics 2026GPTBot 429 case study

    Read the study

  6. 79

    third-party real estate statistics, each with its source, date and link

    Reference list, published

    Real Estate SEO Statistics 2026: Sourced, Dated Figures

    Each of its 79 statistics carries its publisher, its date and a link to the exact source, and our own 16 AI visibility figures sit in a separate labelled layer that links back to the studies above. Quote five ready-made sentences, or download the whole list as a CSV.

    Our figures come from Houston 500-query study150-query real estate studyopen list of cited domainsGPTBot 429 case study

    Open the list

How we run our AI visibility research

Every study starts with a real buying question rather than a brand name, because that is the moment an engine decides whose name to hand a customer. We put that question to each engine in turn, record what comes back, and classify the brand as cited, mentioned or absent.

Then we publish the sample, the dates, the exact wording and the parts of the method we do not trust. Where the data is weak we say so on the page instead of burying it in a footnote.

Writing about this research? The CiteVantage press kit sets out each finding as a sentence to quote with its source, date and link, along with the data files, chart images and logo.

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The audit needs no call and no card. If AI already names you, the report says so.

chatgpt.com · "best real estate agent in Houston" ChatGPT answering "best real estate agent in Houston" by naming Houston Properties Team, Found Realty Group and Corcoran Prestige Realty Nine named. None of them you.
Unedited, from a real audit. This is the answer your buyer already sees.