Data Study · AI SEO

    ChatGPT Cites the USDA in 43.9% of Recipe Answers vs 1.4% for Gemini

    Matt SuffolettoWritten by Matt Suffoletto
    Published Sept. 24, 2026 6 min read
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    ChatGPT cites the US Department of Agriculture's usda.gov in 43.9% of its sourced answers to recipe questions, while Gemini cites it in 1.4%. Gemini answers 82.6% of recipe questions with no source at all, the highest rate of 12 industries, and when it cites anything, google.com leads.

    Analysis of 1,600 AI answers to 400 recipe questions · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026

    Key Findings

    1. 1.ChatGPT cites usda.gov in 43.9% of its sourced answers to recipe questions, while Gemini cites it in 1.4%.
    2. 2.usda.gov is the most-cited website in AI answers to recipe questions, appearing in 37.5% of ChatGPT and Gemini answers that cite a source, more than three times the next site, foodnetwork.com, at 10.7%.
    3. 3.Gemini answers 82.6% of recipe questions without citing any source, the highest rate of 12 industries, against 2.1% for ChatGPT.
    4. 4.When Gemini does cite a source for a recipe question, its top choice is google.com, in 23.7% of its sourced answers.
    5. 5.Media and reference publishers take 16% of the citations in AI answers to recipe questions, the highest share of 12 industries.

    Summary

    A home cook asks an AI assistant how long to rest a turkey, or what temperature chicken thighs need to reach. On ChatGPT, the answer very often cites the US Department of Agriculture. On Gemini, more than four times in five it cites nothing, and when it does, the most likely source is Google itself.

    Recipe publishers, food brands and restaurants compete for citations alongside those sources. A citation is the link an AI answer shows as its evidence, and it is one of the few ways an answer sends a reader to a website. For a food site that earns its living from visits, an answer that repeats the recipe without a link is a lost reader.

    ChatGPT cites usda.gov in 43.9% of its sourced recipe answers; Gemini cites it in 1.4%. Across both engines the USDA leads at 37.5%, far ahead of Food Network at 10.7% and Wikipedia at 8.2%, and Gemini leaves 82.6% of recipe answers unsourced.

    What we measured

    On September 23, 2026 we asked ChatGPT and Gemini 400 recipe questions, each twice, as part of a wider study of AI sources across 12 industries. That gave 1,600 answers, 922 of which cited at least one source, and 614 different websites were cited across them.

    A website's share is the percentage of sourced answers that cite it at least once, counting all pages from the same site together. We also sorted every citation by the kind of website behind it: government and education (.gov, .edu and .mil addresses), nonprofits and associations (.org), media and reference publishers such as food magazines and recipe sites, user-generated sites such as forums, social media and video platforms, and companies and other commercial websites. The same measures were taken for the other 11 industries.

    ChatGPT cooks from the USDA

    43.9%
    of ChatGPT's sourced answers to recipe questions cite usda.gov.

    The USDA publishes the safe minimum cooking temperatures, storage times and nutrition data that sit behind many recipe questions, and ChatGPT treats it as the default authority. Its next sources are Food Network (12.6%), cambridge.org (8.2%), Wikipedia (7.3%) and the government's foodsafety.gov (6.9%). Across both engines, usda.gov appears in 37.5% of sourced recipe answers, more than three times the next website.

    All answers by rank
    1
    37.5%
    2
    10.7%
    3
    8.2%
    4
    6.9%
    5
    5.9%
    6
    4%
    7
    3.6%
    8
    2.8%
    9
    2.3%
    10
    2.2%
    11
    2.2%
    12
    2.1%
    13
    2%
    14
    1.8%
    15
    1.8%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 1,600 AI answers to 400 recipe questions · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026

    Rank Website All answers ChatGPT Gemini
    1 usda.gov 37.5% 43.9% 1.4%
    2 foodnetwork.com 10.7% 12.6% 0%
    3 wikipedia.org 8.2% 7.3% 13.7%
    4 cambridge.org 6.9% 8.2% 0%
    5 foodsafety.gov 5.9% 6.9% 0%
    6 thekitchn.com 4% 4.2% 2.9%
    7 google.com 3.6% 0% 23.7%
    8 chefsresource.com 2.8% 3.3% 0%
    9 allrecipes.com 2.3% 2.7% 0%
    10 marthastewart.com 2.2% 2.6% 0%
    11 reddit.com 2.2% 0.1% 13.7%
    12 mcdonalds.com 2.1% 1.8% 3.6%
    13 restaurantji.com 2% 2% 1.4%
    14 southernliving.com 1.8% 2.2% 0%
    15 kingarthurbaking.com 1.8% 2.2% 0%

    That makes the USDA's lead in recipes the second-strongest of any industry, behind only nih.gov in fitness. It is a signal about what AI engines prioritise on food: safety first. A recipe page that states a safe internal temperature or storage time, and links the USDA for it, is speaking the same language as the source ChatGPT trusts most.

    Gemini rarely cites, and when it does, it cites Google

    82.6%
    of Gemini's answers to recipe questions cite no source at all.

    No industry goes unsourced on Gemini more often; home improvement is next. Gemini cites a source in 17.4% of recipe answers, and in those its top choice is google.com, at 23.7%, ahead of Wikipedia and Reddit at 13.7% each. ChatGPT, by contrast, cites a source in 97.9% of recipe answers and never cites google.com. Across both engines, 42.4% of recipe answers cite nothing.

    ChatGPT
    Answers with no source
    2.1%
    Share of sourced answers citing it
    43.9%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 1,600 AI answers to 400 recipe questions · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026

    Measure ChatGPT Gemini
    Answers with no source 2.1% 82.6%
    Websites per sourced answer 2.1 2.5
    Most-cited website usda.gov google.com
    Share of sourced answers citing it 43.9% 23.7%

    For a recipe publisher, Gemini is the harder engine. Most of its recipe answers send no one anywhere, and the few that do often point back to Google, so on Gemini a recipe site's name has to carry into the answer text itself.

    Food publishers hold their biggest share here

    16%
    of citations in AI answers to recipe questions go to media and reference publishers.

    That is the highest share of any industry in the study. Food Network, The Kitchn (4%), Allrecipes (2.3%), Martha Stewart (2.2%), Southern Living and King Arthur Baking (1.8% each) all rank in the top 15, and Epicurious and Bon Appetit appear in the top 25. Companies and other commercial websites take 41.9% of recipe citations, government and university websites 31.8%, 5th of 12 industries, and user-generated content 2.1%.

    Share of sourced answers by industry
    Legal
    14.7%
    Health
    32.3%
    Money
    13.8%
    Real estate
    27.2%
    Home improvement
    11.8%
    Travel
    13.2%
    Cars
    6.7%
    Software
    24.3%
    College
    13.1%
    Fitness
    41.5%
    Pets
    18.4%
    Recipes
    37.5%

    Source: Suff Digital analysis of 1,600 AI answers to 400 recipe questions · ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026

    Industry Top source Share of sourced answers Government and university share User-generated share
    Legal americanbar.org 14.7% 20.6% 3.8%
    Health nih.gov 32.3% 36.2% 0.6%
    Money irs.gov 13.8% 30.2% 1.7%
    Real estate consumerfinance.gov 27.2% 26.9% 1.6%
    Home improvement energy.gov 11.8% 39.2% 1.6%
    Travel delta.com 13.2% 8.1% 2.8%
    Cars consumerreports.org 6.7% 11.4% 2.9%
    Software apple.com 24.3% 4.7% 3.2%
    College consumerfinance.gov 13.1% 32.1% 2.1%
    Fitness nih.gov 41.5% 45.5% 0.2%
    Pets vcahospitals.com 18.4% 10.1% 3.1%
    Recipes usda.gov 37.5% 31.8% 2.1%

    The cited publishers include test-kitchen brands and technique-focused sites, with guides and ingredient explainers alongside the recipes. That is the kind of page an AI engine can pull a precise answer from.

    What this means for food brands and recipe publishers

    State the facts AI engines look for, plainly and near the top of the page: exact times, temperatures, weights and substitutions, the safe internal temperature and how long leftovers keep. Link the USDA or foodsafety.gov for the safety figures. A recipe that answers "how long" and "how hot" in the first lines gives ChatGPT something to quote alongside the USDA.

    Build the reference pages around your recipes as well: technique guides, ingredient explainers and troubleshooting ("why did my bread not rise"). Those are the pages food publishers win citations with. Working with an ai seo company that tracks recipe citations across engines shows which of your pages are cited and which questions go to the USDA or to Google instead.

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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-sources-recipe-questions">ChatGPT Cites the USDA in 43.9% of Recipe Answers vs 1.4% for Gemini - Suff Digital</a></p>

    Cite this study

    APA

    Suff Digital. (2026). ChatGPT Cites the USDA in 43.9% of Recipe Answers vs 1.4% for Gemini. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-sources-recipe-questions

    Plain link

    ChatGPT Cites the USDA in 43.9% of Recipe Answers vs 1.4% for Gemini - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-sources-recipe-questions

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