The Most Academic AI: Perplexity Cites Universities and Government Sites in 58% of Answers

    Perplexity cites at least one government, military or university website in 58.1% of its answers to everyday questions, ahead of ChatGPT at 49.8% and far ahead of Google AI Mode at 26.7%. On tax questions, 71.7% of AI answers cite an official source.

    Answers citing a .gov, .edu or .mil site by AI engine
    Perplexity
    58.1%
    ChatGPT
    49.8%
    Google AI Overviews
    35.3%
    Google AI Mode
    26.7%
    Gemini
    6.3%
    All engines
    32.6%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 25,940 AI answers · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026

    AI answers citing a .gov, .edu or .mil site by question topic
    Taxes
    71.7%
    Weather
    56.9%
    Health
    54.5%
    Education
    54%
    Fitness
    52.2%
    Mental health
    48.4%
    Travel
    12.5%
    Pets
    12.5%
    Software
    7.1%
    Tech
    5.7%
    Shopping
    2.2%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 25,940 AI answers · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026

    Share of AI answers citing it by official website
    nih.gov
    4.7%
    consumerfinance.gov
    2.2%
    harvard.edu
    1.9%
    cdc.gov
    1.9%
    cornell.edu
    1.4%
    irs.gov
    1.4%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 25,940 AI answers · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features, September 2026

    Source: The Most Academic AI: Perplexity Cites Universities and Government Sites in 58% of Answers - Suff Digital