Data Study · AI SEO

    ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode

    Matt SuffolettoWritten by Matt Suffoletto
    Published Sept. 24, 2026 5 min read
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    1.8% of the links ChatGPT cites lead to a page that no longer exists or a server error, against 0.5% for Gemini and Google AI Mode. Across all three AI engines, 0.9% of cited links are dead, and one cited page in six turns away automated visitors.

    Analysis of 9,795 links cited in AI answers · ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode answers, September 2026

    Key Findings

    1. 1.1.8% of the links ChatGPT cites lead to a missing page or a server error, more than three times the 0.5% rate for Gemini and for Google AI Mode.
    2. 2.0.9% of the links cited in AI answers lead to a page that no longer exists or a server error, fewer than one in 100.
    3. 3.16.5% of the web pages cited in AI answers block or challenge automated visitors, about one in six.
    4. 4.80.9% of the links cited in AI answers load normally for an automated visit.
    5. 5.Counting links that give no response at all, 2.6% of the links cited in AI answers fail to load, about one in 40.

    Summary

    A reader asks ChatGPT how to appeal a property tax assessment and clicks the source listed under the answer. Instead of the county's guide, the browser shows "404 Not Found". The page was moved or deleted, and the AI is still pointing people to it.

    Citations are how AI answers earn trust and how they send readers to websites. A dead link breaks both: the reader cannot check the claim, and the website the AI meant to credit gets no visit. For the website owner, a cited page that has moved without a redirect is a citation wasted.

    ChatGPT's citations lead to a dead page 1.8% of the time, more than three times the 0.5% for Gemini and Google AI Mode. Across all three engines 0.9% of cited links are dead. A bigger share, 16.5%, turn away automated visitors with a block or a bot check.

    What we measured

    On September 23 and 24, 2026 we took a random set of unique links cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, Google's chat-style search, and visited each one. 9,795 links make up the final set: 2,803 cited by ChatGPT, 4,085 by Gemini and 3,168 by Google AI Mode. A link cited by more than one engine counts once for each engine.

    We recorded what each link returned. A link is dead when it returns "not found" (the page no longer exists, a 404 or 410 error) or a server error (a 5xx error, when the website fails to respond properly). A link is blocked when the website refuses an automated visit or shows a bot check instead of the page. A link gives no response when the address does not resolve or the website does not answer in time.

    One cited page in six turns away automated visitors

    16.5% of the pages cited in AI answers refused an automated visit or showed a bot check, such as a "verify you are human" screen or an access-denied error. These are not dead links: the bot check stops automated visitors, not readers in a browser. But they show how many of the websites AI engines cite use bot protection.

    That matters for website owners because AI engines read pages with automated visitors too. A website that blocks bots broadly can stop AI crawlers from reading the very pages it wants cited.

    What this means for website owners

    If AI engines cite your pages, keep those addresses alive. When you move, rename or delete a page, redirect the old address to the closest matching page, so a cited link still lands somewhere useful. Check your most-linked and most-cited pages after every redesign or migration, when broken links multiply.

    Then check your bot protection. Firewall and bot-management settings often block automated visitors by default, including the crawlers ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity use to read pages. Allow the AI crawlers you want to be cited by, and test that your key pages load for them.

    As an ai seo company, Suff Digital checks which of your pages AI engines cite and whether their crawlers can reach them.

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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers">ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode - Suff Digital</a></p>

    Cite this study

    APA

    Suff Digital. (2026). ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers

    Plain link

    ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers

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