We asked five AIs, in Italian, which tool to use for social media management. When they cite a source, the most cited sites belong to the vendors: hootsuite.com appears in one in two answers, and the top four sources are all vendor sites.
For anyone selling software this means something concrete: the pages on your site are among the texts an AI reads before recommending you, or someone else.
How we measured
We wrote 25 questions in Italian, the way someone looking for a tool to schedule posts, approve content, build reports or manage messages would ask them. They come from real Google searches and name no brand.
We asked each question twice to five AIs: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode. That is 247 answers in total, collected on 19 October 2026.
For every answer we recorded three things: which tools it recommends, which sites it cites as sources and, when the AI shows it, what it searched for on the web before answering.
Every percentage comes with a range, for example 45%–58%. It means that, with 247 answers, the true value very likely sits inside it. When the ranges of two names touch, we don’t say which one is ahead.
Results
The sources are the vendors’ sites
217 of the 247 answers cite at least one source. Among them, the most cited sites are:
| Site | Answers with sources citing it | Range |
|---|---|---|
| hootsuite.com | 51% | 45%–58% |
| sproutsocial.com | 38% | 32%–45% |
| metricool.com | 35% | 29%–42% |
| buffer.com | 20% | 15%–26% |
| youtube.com | 14% | 10%–20% |
| agorapulse.com | 13% | 9%–18% |
Each site counts with all its pages: hootsuite.com includes Hootsuite’s blog and help center. An answer citing two pages of the same site counts once.
The first site that doesn’t belong to a vendor is YouTube, in fifth place.
Before answering, the AI looks up the vendor
ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity show what they search for on the web before answering. We can see it in 124 answers, and in two cases out of three (65%, range 57%–73%) the AI searches for the name of the vendor it then recommends. The question didn’t name it: the name comes in during the search.
This doesn’t prove that the search decides the recommendation. It shows that, while building the answer, the AI goes and reads the vendors’ pages.
Who gets recommended
Hootsuite appears in 66% of answers and Sprout Social in 55%. Their ranges touch, so with this data they are level at the top. Next come Metricool (42%), Agorapulse (28%) and Buffer (25%).
Metricool appears less often than Hootsuite, but when it does it is the first name in 64% of cases, against 41% for Hootsuite.
The five AIs don’t cite sources the same way: ChatGPT and Perplexity do it in every answer, AI Overview and AI Mode in almost all, Gemini in fewer than one in two (46%). When Gemini cites no source, it answers from what it remembers.
What changes if you sell software
If you sell a social media tool, or any software, your site isn’t only for the people who visit it. Product pages, pricing, help center and blog are among the texts an AI reads and cites when someone asks for advice about your category.
- Check which pages of your site get cited when an AI talks about your category, and which competitor pages get cited instead of yours.
- Make sure your product and pricing pages say clearly who you serve, what you do and what you cost: that is the information the AI picks up.
- Don’t neglect your help center: for Hootsuite and Sprout Social it is among the cited pages.
What changes if you are choosing
If you are choosing a tool, know that an AI answer with sources often rests on the vendors’ own sites. Before deciding, open the sources and look for an independent comparison too.
For other categories, see our analysis of SEO tools and our research on website builders.
Limits
The measurement covers 25 questions and the answers collected on 19 October 2026: another day or other questions may give different numbers.
Percentages about sources are computed on the 217 answers citing at least one, the one about searches on the 124 answers where the AI shows them. AI Overview and AI Mode don’t show their searches.
We measure how often AIs recommend and cite a name, not its market share or the quality of the product.
Frequently asked questions
Why these questions?
They come from real Google searches about social media tools and cover the most common tasks: scheduling, approvals, reports and messages. They name no brand, so as not to suggest the answer.
Why five AIs?
Because someone looking for a tool today may ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity, or get the answer directly on Google through AI Overview and AI Mode. We keep them separate because they behave differently.
What does “range” mean?
With 247 answers, every percentage has a margin of uncertainty. The range shows where the true value very likely sits. When the ranges of two names overlap, we don’t rank them.
If you want to know which pages of your site AIs cite when they talk about your category, that is the measurement Refinea runs on your brand, starting from your customers’ questions.