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Observatory · Sector

How AI engines choose marketing agencies to recommend

When buyers ask AI engines which marketing agency to hire, 45.0% of the cited sources are rankings and comparison pages, the highest share of the nine sectors in the Observatory. Data: 41,939 answers from ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot, July 12 to October 11, 2026.

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Updated

41,939

answers analysed

89%

ai overview displayed

45%

rankings among sources

6.7

sources per answer

Types of sources cited : Marketing agencies
Other sites47%Rankings and comparisons45%Reviews and directories5%YouTube1%LinkedIn1%Forums (Reddit, Quora)1%
Share of rankings among cited sources, by engine (Marketing agencies)
Microsoft Copilot58%Perplexity57%ChatGPT40%Google AI Overviews39%
Searches where Google displays an AI Overview, by sector
Coaching and advisory92%Marketing agencies89%B2B software and tech88%Finance and wealth management83%Retail and fashion78%Events and corporate retreats77%Health, beauty and fitness76%Real estate67%Travel and leisure54%

Marketing agencies (GEO, SEO, paid media, branding) are the sector where AI engines rely most on third-party lists. Across 41,939 answers, mostly to French-language questions, rankings and comparisons make up 45.0% of cited sources, against 47.3% for brand sites, media and blogs. Reviews and directories weigh 4.7%, YouTube 1.1% and LinkedIn 1.0%, the highest LinkedIn share of any sector.

Engines differ. Rankings reach 57.8% of Copilot sources and 57.0% of Perplexity sources, against 40.2% for ChatGPT and 39.2% for Google AI Overviews. AI Overviews adds YouTube (6.1%) and LinkedIn (2.1%) to the mix.

AI Overviews appears on 88.9% of agency searches. Answers cite 6.7 sources on average and at least one source in 94.9% of cases. Answer length varies a lot: a median of 420 words on Copilot, 358 on ChatGPT, 118 on Perplexity.

For an agency, the conclusion is direct: AI visibility is won in the lists that compare agencies, then on your own site. It is the field Archipel works in every day as a GEO agency.

Method

406,626 AI answers collected every day from July 12, 2026 to October 11, 2026 on over 1,700 purchase-intent questions tracked by Archipel (mostly in French, plus the United States and the Netherlands). ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot: Profound data. Claude and Gemini: Peec AI data. Sources are classified automatically from their address and title. Figures are aggregated: no brand or client is published. Free to reuse with a link to this page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which sources do AI engines cite when recommending marketing agencies?
When recommending marketing agencies, AI engines cite brand sites, media and blogs for 47.3% of sources and rankings and comparisons for 45.0%, based on 41,939 answers in the Archipel Observatory.
Which AI engine relies most on rankings for marketing agencies?
Copilot relies most on rankings for marketing agencies, with 57.8% of its sources, followed by Perplexity with 57.0%. ChatGPT is at 40.2% and Google AI Overviews at 39.2%.
How often does Google AI Overviews appear on agency searches?
Google AI Overviews appears on 88.9% of marketing agency buying searches tracked by Archipel between July 12 and October 11, 2026.
Does LinkedIn help marketing agencies get cited by AI?
LinkedIn weighs 1.0% of the sources AI engines cite for marketing agencies, the highest of the nine sectors, and 2.1% in Google AI Overviews.

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