--- title: "ChatGPT Sources by Language: 29% Fewer in Portuguese" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages description: "ChatGPT sources by language: Portuguese answers cite 1.94 websites on average, 29.2% fewer than the 2.74 in US English answers. Read the study." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages&text=ChatGPT%20Cites%2029%25%20Fewer%20Sources%20in%20Portuguese%20Than%20in%20English Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages&title=ChatGPT%20Cites%2029%25%20Fewer%20Sources%20in%20Portuguese%20Than%20in%20English A ChatGPT answer in Portuguese cites 1.94 websites on average, **29.2% fewer** than the 2.74 in a US English answer, and every other language tested also gets fewer sources. ChatGPT gives no sources at all in 8% of Portuguese answers, against 1.7% in US English. Analysis of 14,000 ChatGPT and Gemini answers in six languages · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. ChatGPT answers in Portuguese cite **1.94** websites on average, 29.2% fewer than the 2.74 in US English answers. Copy stat 2. 2. ChatGPT answers in German cite **2.08** websites on average, 24.1% fewer than in US English, while Spanish and French answers cite 2.31, 15.7% fewer. Copy stat 3. 3. ChatGPT gives no sources at all in **8%** of its Portuguese answers and 6.9% of its German ones, against 1.7% of US English answers. Copy stat 4. 4. Gemini gives no sources in **52.2%** of its German answers and 48.9% of its French answers, against 38.8% in US English. Copy stat 5. 5. ChatGPT's German answers are the shortest of any language, about **122 words** against 201 in US English. Copy stat ## Summary A gym-goer in São Paulo asks ChatGPT, in Portuguese, the best time of day to take creatine. An American asking ChatGPT in English typically gets nearly three sources to check. The Brazilian gets fewer than two, and one Portuguese answer in twelve has no sources at all. Sources are the citations an AI answer shows as evidence, and they are how AI sends readers, and credit, to websites. For a publisher or brand outside the English-speaking world, fewer sources per answer means fewer places to be cited and a reader with less to verify. ChatGPT cites **29.2% fewer** websites in Portuguese than in US English, 1.94 against 2.74, and every non-English language tested falls below every English market. Gemini behaves differently. Its source counts are flat across languages, but it gives no sources at all in 38.8% of its US English answers and over half of its German ones. ## What we measured On September 23, 2026 we asked ChatGPT and Gemini 150 popular questions in each of Portuguese, German, Spanish, French and Italian, taken from what people search for in those languages, such as "welches ist das beste magnesium" and "qual melhor horário para tomar creatina". We also asked 500 English questions with the location set to the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Every question was asked twice on each engine, giving 14,000 answers. For each answer we counted the sources: the distinct websites it cites, so a site linked twice counts once. We also recorded the share of answers that cite no website at all and the length of the answer in words, and compared each language with US English. ## Fewer sources in every language on ChatGPT 1.94 websites are cited, on average, in a ChatGPT answer in Portuguese, against 2.74 in US English. English answers cluster between 2.56 and 2.74 sources whatever the country. Every other language falls below that range: Spanish and French at 2.31, Italian at 2.22, German at 2.08 and Portuguese at 1.94. Because the four English markets barely differ, the drop follows the language of the question, not the location of the person asking. ChatGPT answers with no sources by language or market English (US) 1.7% English (UK) 1.6% English (Canada) 1.8% English (Australia) 1.6% Spanish 6.8% French 5.2% Italian 5.7% German 6.9% Portuguese 8% Source: Suff Digital analysis of 14,000 ChatGPT and Gemini answers in six languages · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026 | Language or market | ChatGPT sources per answer | ChatGPT answers with no sources | ChatGPT answer length (words) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | English (US) | 2.74 | 1.7% | 201 | | English (UK) | 2.67 | 1.6% | 209 | | English (Canada) | 2.60 | 1.8% | 191 | | English (Australia) | 2.56 | 1.6% | 189 | | Spanish | 2.31 | 6.8% | 145 | | French | 2.31 | 5.2% | 152 | | Italian | 2.22 | 5.7% | 153 | | German | 2.08 | 6.9% | 122 | | Portuguese | 1.94 | 8% | 131 | Answers with no sources become far more common. Under 2% of ChatGPT's English answers cite nothing, against 5.2% to 8% in the other languages, so a Portuguese answer is almost five times as likely to arrive without a single source. The answers also get shorter, from 201 words in US English to 131 in Portuguese and 122 in German. ChatGPT cites less and writes less when the question is not in English. ## Gemini is flat, but often cites nothing Gemini's source counts barely move by language, from 1.69 in French to 2.23 in Italian, against 1.83 in US English. In Portuguese (1.98) and Italian it even edges past ChatGPT. The language gap in source counts is a ChatGPT pattern. Gemini answers with no sources by language or market English (US) 38.8% English (UK) 34.8% Spanish 38.5% Italian 37% Portuguese 41.5% French 48.9% German 52.2% | Language or market | Gemini sources per answer | Gemini answers with no sources | Gemini answer length (words) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | English (US) | 1.83 | 38.8% | 301 | | English (UK) | 2.15 | 34.8% | 310 | | Spanish | 1.72 | 38.5% | 231 | | Italian | 2.23 | 37% | 274 | | Portuguese | 1.98 | 41.5% | 241 | | French | 1.69 | 48.9% | 248 | | German | 1.79 | 52.2% | 188 | Gemini's weakness is the answers with no sources at all, and it is large in every language: 38.8% of its US English answers cite nothing, rising to 48.9% in French and 52.2% in German. More than half of Gemini's German answers give the reader no website to check. Gemini's answers shrink outside English too, from about 301 words in US English to 188 in German, a drop about as steep as ChatGPT's. ## What this means for international publishers and brands In non-English markets, fewer sources means fewer slots. A ChatGPT answer in Portuguese or German cites about two websites, so the competition for each citation is tighter than in English, and the sites that win it are the ones that answer the question directly in the local language. Local-language pages built around the questions your market actually asks matter more there, not less. Do not assume your English AI visibility carries over. Ask your customers' questions in their language on ChatGPT and Gemini, several times, and note which local websites win the few citations on offer; those are the sites to earn coverage on. As an international seo agency (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/international-seo-agency), Suff Digital tracks AI citations market by market and language by language. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: ChatGPT Cites 29% Fewer Sources in Portuguese Than in English - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). ChatGPT Cites 29% Fewer Sources in Portuguese Than in English. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages Plain link ChatGPT Cites 29% Fewer Sources in Portuguese Than in English - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages ## Frequently asked questions ### Does ChatGPT cite fewer sources in other languages? ### Which languages get the fewest sources from ChatGPT? ### Does Gemini show the same gap? ### How often does Gemini answer without sources? ## Related studies - AI SEO US vs UK: ChatGPT Recommends a Different Top Product 69.3% of the Time: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-different-brands-us-uk - AI SEO ChatGPT Cites 3.7 Sources per Answer vs 20 for Perplexity: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-citations-per-answer - AI SEO Perplexity Cites Comparison Sites in 93% of Credit Card and Loan Answers vs 21.4% for ChatGPT: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-credit-card-affiliate-sources - AI SEO AI Legal Answers: Gemini Cites No Source 52.5% of the Time vs 1.4% for ChatGPT: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-sources-legal-questions ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization", "name": "Suff Digital", "alternateName": "Suff Digital Marketing", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "contentUrl": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "caption": "Suff Digital" }, "image": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo" }, "description": "Suff Digital is a full-stack digital marketing agency that turns websites into predictable revenue engines, SEO, paid media, content, CRO, and web design built around revenue, not vanity metrics.", "slogan": "Digital marketing built for what's next.", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "foundingDate": "2022", "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "contactType": "sales", "areaServed": "US", "availableLanguage": [ "en" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Nashville", "addressRegion": "TN", "postalCode": "37219", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/suff-digital/", "https://www.instagram.com/suffdigital/", "https://www.youtube.com/@suffdigitalmarketing", "https://www.tiktok.com/@suffdigital" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Search Engine Optimization", "Pay-Per-Click Advertising", "Paid Social Advertising", "Conversion Rate Optimization", "Web Design", "Digital PR", "Link Building", "Website Migration", "Website Maintenance and Support", "Technical SEO", "Local SEO", "AI Search Optimization" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "Suff Digital Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/ppc" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Paid Social Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/paid-social" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/cro" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Web Design", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/web-design" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Digital PR & Link Building", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Migration", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Maintenance & Support", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-maintenance" } } ] } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "name": "Suff Digital", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages#article", "headline": "ChatGPT Cites 29% Fewer Sources in Portuguese Than in English", "description": "A ChatGPT answer in Portuguese cites 1.94 websites on average, 29.2% fewer than the 2.74 in a US English answer, and every other language tested also gets fewer sources. 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ChatGPT gives no sources at all in 8% of Portuguese answers, against 1.7% in US English.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages", "creator": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-24", "dateModified": "2026-09-24", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "measurementTechnique": "ChatGPT and Gemini answers" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-cites-fewer-sources-other-languages#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does ChatGPT cite fewer sources in other languages?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. ChatGPT answers in Portuguese cite 1.94 websites on average, 29.2% fewer than the 2.74 in US English answers, and every other language tested also gets fewer (September 2026)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which languages get the fewest sources from ChatGPT?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Portuguese, at 1.94 websites per answer, and German, at 2.08. ChatGPT gives no sources at all in 8% of Portuguese answers and 6.9% of German ones." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does Gemini show the same gap?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Not in source counts. Gemini's Portuguese answers cite 1.98 websites against 1.83 in US English, but Gemini gives no sources in 52.2% of its German answers." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How often does Gemini answer without sources?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Often. Gemini gives no sources in 38.8% of its US English answers, 48.9% of its French answers and 52.2% of its German answers." } } ] } ] } ] ```