--- title: "Broken Links in AI Answers: ChatGPT's Rate Is 3x Gemini's" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers description: "Broken links in AI answers: 1.8% of the links ChatGPT cites lead to dead pages or server errors, against 0.5% for Gemini and Google AI Mode. See the data." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbroken-links-in-ai-answers&text=ChatGPT%20Links%20to%20Dead%20Pages%20More%20Than%203x%20as%20Often%20as%20Gemini%20and%20Google%27s%20AI%20Mode Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbroken-links-in-ai-answers Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbroken-links-in-ai-answers Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbroken-links-in-ai-answers&title=ChatGPT%20Links%20to%20Dead%20Pages%20More%20Than%203x%20as%20Often%20as%20Gemini%20and%20Google%27s%20AI%20Mode **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. Copy stat 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. Copy stat 3. 3. **16.5%** of the web pages cited in AI answers block or challenge automated visitors, about one in six. Copy stat 4. 4. **80.9%** of the links cited in AI answers load normally for an automated visit. Copy stat 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. Copy stat ## 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. ## ChatGPT links break most often 1.8% of the links ChatGPT cites lead to a missing page or a server error. That is 51 of the 2,803 ChatGPT links checked, against 21 of Gemini's 4,085 and 17 of Google AI Mode's 3,168. ChatGPT still links to working pages in the vast majority of cases, but it sends readers to a page that is gone more often than either Google engine. Cited links that are dead by AI engine ChatGPT 1.8% Gemini 0.5% Google AI Mode 0.5% Source: Suff Digital analysis of 9,795 links cited in AI answers · ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode answers, September 2026 The gap reflects where each engine gets its links. Gemini and Google AI Mode sit on top of Google's search index, which is refreshed as pages disappear. ChatGPT runs its own searches and draws on a wider mix of sources, so a link to a page that has since moved or been deleted survives into an answer more often. ## Fewer than one link in 100 is dead Across all three engines, 0.9% of cited links are dead: 0.7% return "not found" and 0.19% a server error. Another 1.64% give no response at all, such as an address that no longer exists or a website that times out, and 0.04% return other errors. Counting all of those, 2.6% of cited links fail to load, about one in 40. Share of cited links by what the cited link returned Loaded normally 80.9% Blocked or bot check 16.5% No response 1.6% Not found (404 or 410) 0.7% Server error (5xx) 0.19% Other error 0.04% Other 0.05% 80.9% of cited links load normally. AI engines mostly cite pages that are live, which fits how they work: most answers come from a fresh web search, not from a memory of pages that existed months ago. ## 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 (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/ai-seo-services), Suff Digital checks which of your pages AI engines cite and whether their crawlers can reach them. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode - Suff Digital

## 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 ## Frequently asked questions ### How many links in AI answers are broken? ### Which AI engine links to broken pages most? ### Do the websites AI cites block bots? ### What share of links in AI answers work? ## Related studies - AI SEO 45% of AI Answers From ChatGPT, Gemini and Google Cite a Page Over Two Years Old: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-answers-cite-old-pages - AI SEO Ask AI for the Latest and 38% of Answers Cite a Page Over a Year Old: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-latest-questions-stale-sources - AI SEO YouTube Tops AI Citations: Google's AI Cites It 6,894 Times vs 5 for ChatGPT: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/top-cited-websites-in-ai - AI SEO Google's Gemini Cites No Source in 61.2% of Its Answers vs 2.2% for ChatGPT: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-answers-no-links ## 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/broken-links-in-ai-answers#article", "headline": "ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode", "description": "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.", "image": [ "https://www.suffdigital.com/images/suff-digital-share-16x9.jpg" ], "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers", "datePublished": "2026-09-24", "dateModified": "2026-09-24", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/who-we-are" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers", "@type": "WebPage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Resources", "item": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Data Studies", "item": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode" } ] }, { "@type": "Dataset", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers#dataset", "name": "ChatGPT Links to Dead Pages More Than 3x as Often as Gemini and Google's AI Mode", "description": "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.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers", "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": "Answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode; each cited link visited and its response recorded" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/broken-links-in-ai-answers#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many links in AI answers are broken?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "0.9% of the links cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode lead to a missing page or a server error (September 2026). Counting links that give no response, 2.6% fail to load." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which AI engine links to broken pages most?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "ChatGPT. 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." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do the websites AI cites block bots?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Often. 16.5% of the pages cited in AI answers block or challenge automated visitors, about one in six." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What share of links in AI answers work?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "80.9% of the links cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode load normally, 16.5% block automated visitors and 0.9% are dead." } } ] } ] } ] ```