ChatGPT included at least one citation in 22.6% of travel answers and 4.8% of education answers on US desktop in May 2026, according to Similarweb's 2026 Generative AI Landscape report, covered on 27 July 2026 by Search Engine Journal. The average across the nine sectors Similarweb ranked was 6.8%. Similarweb sells AI-visibility tracking, and its report states that all of its data are estimates and extrapolations drawn from third-party sources and are not warranted for accuracy or completeness, so these are modelled numbers rather than measured platform data.
What Similarweb measured, and the disclaimer attached to it
The figures cover US desktop usage of ChatGPT in May 2026, among answers that included at least one external link. Similarweb's own report says its data are estimates and extrapolations drawn from third-party sources, with no warranty of accuracy or completeness. That is the right frame for everything below. Nothing here comes from inside OpenAI.
The scope also leaves out a lot of real usage. Similarweb states the data does not include API usage, desktop applications, or AI features integrated into other mobile and web apps. Anything ChatGPT does inside another product sits outside the count.
Citation rate by sector, US desktop, May 2026
Similarweb ranked nine sectors by the share of answers carrying at least one citation. Four sectors came in above the 6.8% average and the rest below it, with education last.
| Sector | Answers with at least one citation |
|---|---|
| Travel | 22.6% |
| Retail | 13.5% |
| Sports | 10.7% |
| Finance | 8.0% |
| Education | 4.8% |
Technology, health, and media and entertainment also fell below the 6.8% average. No separate figure was reported for those three, so their exact position between education's 4.8% and the average is not known from this data.
The overall rate went from 1.3% to 6.8% in under a year
Similarweb estimates the overall citation rate rose from about 1.3% in June 2025 to 6.8% in May 2026, which it describes as more than a fivefold increase in less than a year. The climb was not steady. The rate passed 6% in October, dropped back, then rose again.
The direction is the useful part of that series. A surface that linked out on roughly one answer in seventy-seven now links out on roughly one in fifteen, on Similarweb's estimates. It is still a minority behaviour.
Reviews and user content are cited more often than news
Across what Similarweb labels the top 10,000 citations on US desktop in May 2026, reviews and user-generated content accounted for 28.9% of citations and news and publisher sites for 26.0%. Together that is more than half of the most-cited material, and the larger of the two shares is content brands do not own.
That has a direct consequence for planning. If the single biggest slice of cited material is reviews and user content, a citation strategy built only on owned pages is aiming at the smaller half of the pool. Review presence and third-party listings are doing work that no amount of on-site publishing replaces.
What this means for marketers in Thailand
The data is US desktop only, and Similarweb made no claim about Thailand. A Thai marketer should not read 22.6% as a Thai travel figure. What does travel across markets is the shape of the finding: the ceiling on ChatGPT citations is set largely by category before anyone writes a word.
For a Thai hotel group or tour operator, travel sits in the most favourable environment Similarweb measured. For a hospital or a school, the pool of citing answers is far smaller, and a citation-led plan will look inefficient next to the same budget spent on demand that already exists. So set the target using sector context: plan ChatGPT SEO and wider generative engine optimisation work against a realistic ceiling, and keep AI SEO measurement separate from classic organic reporting so a low citation count is not mistaken for a failing content programme.
Frequently asked questions
How often does ChatGPT link to sources?
On about 6.8% of answers, on US desktop in May 2026, per Similarweb's estimates. That is the average across the nine sectors it ranked, up from about 1.3% in June 2025.
Which sectors get cited most in ChatGPT?
Travel, at 22.6% of answers, then retail at 13.5%, sports at 10.7% and finance at 8.0%. Those four were the only sectors above the 6.8% average in Similarweb's May 2026 estimates.
Is any of this Thai data?
No. The figures are US desktop only, and nothing in the reported findings describes Thailand or any other market.
Does this cover the ChatGPT API and mobile usage?
No. Similarweb states the data excludes API usage, desktop applications, and AI features integrated into other mobile and web apps. What remains is US desktop usage in May 2026.
Should a health or education brand stop chasing AI citations?
Not necessarily, but the target should be sized differently. Education answers carried a citation 4.8% of the time against 22.6% for travel in Similarweb's May 2026 estimates, so the same effort meets a much smaller pool of citing answers and should be budgeted that way.
One number is worth keeping from this report: 6.8%. Most ChatGPT answers on US desktop still cite nothing at all, and the share that does cite something is weighted heavily by sector. Before setting a citation target for the next quarter, check which side of the 6.8% average your category sits on, and how much of your category's cited material you actually own.
