Earned media drives 84% of AI citations, dominating over paid content in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

A study by Muck Rack analyzing over 25 million links reveals that earned media accounts for 84% of AI citations across ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, with journalism alone making up 27%. Paid and advertorial content represents only 0.3% of citations. This consistent pattern, observed since July 2025, highlights that AI systems rely heavily on editorial and earned coverage rather than paid placements when answering consumer queries. The study also shows that citation patterns vary by AI platform and question type, emphasizing the importance for PR and marketing teams to focus on earning media coverage to influence AI-driven visibility.