---
title: "AI Citation Factors: Cited Pages Show Dates 72% More Often"
url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common
description: "AI citation factors from 15,745 pages: pages AI engines cite are 72% more likely to show a 'last updated' date than top pages they skip. Read the study."
lang: en
---
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The web pages ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode cite are **72%** more likely to show a visible "last updated" date than top-ranking Google results for the same questions that no AI engine cited. They are also more likely to carry an FAQ section, a table and a named author, and less likely to be thin, while more statistics, embedded video and an answer in the first lines show no advantage.
Analysis of 15,745 web pages · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, and Google search results, September 2026
## Key Findings
1. 1. **13.3%** of web pages cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode show a visible "last updated" date, against 7.7% of top-10 Google results that no AI engine cited, making cited pages 72% more likely to show one, the widest gap of any page feature compared. Copy stat
2. 2. The median AI-cited web page had been updated **118 days** before collection, against 196 days for the median top-ranking page AI skips. Copy stat
3. 3. **28.7%** of AI-cited web pages include an FAQ section and 26.8% contain a table, against 19.6% and 18.5% of top-ranking pages AI skips, making cited pages 47% more likely to have an FAQ and 45% more likely to have a table. Copy stat
4. 4. **48.6%** of AI-cited web pages name their author, against 36.3% of top-ranking pages AI skips, and 31.5% describe that person in their schema markup, against 22%. Copy stat
5. 5. **13%** of AI-cited web pages have fewer than 300 words, against 25.4% of top-ranking pages AI skips, and the average cited page runs 2,102 words against 1,645. Copy stat
6. 6. **59.8%** of AI-cited web pages contain five or more statistics, against 64.2% of top-ranking pages AI skips, and cited pages are 21% less likely to embed a video. Copy stat
7. 7. **37%** of AI-cited web pages answer the question in their first 100 words, against 40.6% of top-ranking pages AI skips. Copy stat
## Summary
Someone asks an AI engine how much a kitchen remodel costs. Ten pages rank well for that question in Google, and the engine quotes a few of them. The pages it picks tend to share a look: a "last updated" line under the headline, a table of prices, a named author, a short list of common questions at the bottom, and enough words to cover the topic properly.
Every page in this comparison already ranks in Google's top 10 or was chosen as a source, so the differences are not about being found. They describe which strong pages AI engines choose to quote. That matters to any business that wants to be named in AI answers, because almost all of these features are things a content team can add to an existing page without new research.
The clearest signal is freshness. Web pages cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode are **72%** more likely to show a visible "last updated" date, and they really are newer. FAQ sections, tables and named authors follow. Several popular tips point the other way: cited pages carry fewer statistics, embed video less often and answer the question in their opening lines slightly less often than the pages AI passes over.
## What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode 5,417 questions from a US location and collected every web page their answers cited: 8,294 pages. For the same questions we collected Google's top 10 search results and kept the 7,451 that no AI engine cited, which we call skipped pages. For the analysis of each page's opening, we matched 12,705 of these pages to the question they were found for, 7,070 cited and 5,635 skipped, and read the first 100 words of each.
For every page we recorded its length in words and whether it has a visible "last updated" date, an FAQ section, a table, a named author, headings phrased as questions, numbered and bulleted lists, embedded video, and schema markup, the code inside a page that describes it to search engines. The ratio divides the share of cited pages with a feature by the share of skipped pages with it: 1.45x means the feature is 45% more common on cited pages, and 0.79x means it is 21% less common. The ratios show which features appear together with AI citations.
## How the page features compare
1.72x
is the gap in visible "last updated" dates between AI-cited web pages and the top-ranking pages AI skips.
Set side by side, the page features fall into three groups. At the top are the features that show a page is current, organized into answers and backed by a named person: update dates, FAQ sections and schema, tables, Person and Article markup and author names. In the middle sit formatting choices such as question headings and lists, which are common on both kinds of pages. At the bottom, pages dense with statistics and pages with embedded video are more common among the pages AI skips.
AI-cited pages by page feature
Visible "last updated" date
13.3%
FAQ schema
17.1%
FAQ section
28.7%
Table
26.8%
Person schema
31.5%
Article schema
28.9%
Author name
48.6%
Question headings
49.9%
Numbered list
40.7%
Any list
88.9%
Any schema
63.6%
5 or more statistics
59.8%
Embedded video
11.1%
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 15,745 web pages · answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, and Google search results, September 2026
| Page feature | AI-cited pages | Top-ranking pages AI skips | Ratio |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Visible "last updated" date | 13.3% | 7.7% | 1.72x |
| FAQ schema | 17.1% | 10.9% | 1.57x |
| FAQ section | 28.7% | 19.6% | 1.47x |
| Table | 26.8% | 18.5% | 1.45x |
| Person schema | 31.5% | 22% | 1.43x |
| Article schema | 28.9% | 20.9% | 1.38x |
| Author name | 48.6% | 36.3% | 1.34x |
| Question headings | 49.9% | 40.9% | 1.22x |
| Numbered list | 40.7% | 33.8% | 1.2x |
| Any list | 88.9% | 79.5% | 1.12x |
| Any schema | 63.6% | 59.8% | 1.06x |
| 5 or more statistics | 59.8% | 64.2% | 0.93x |
| Embedded video | 11.1% | 14.1% | 0.79x |
The features at the top share one trait: each makes a page's facts easier to find, date or trust. A formatting habit that nearly every top-ranking page already has, such as a bulleted list or schema added by a website platform, cannot set a page apart, because the pages AI skips have it too.
## Cited pages show they are current
13.3%
of web pages cited by AI engines show a visible "last updated" date.
Visible update dates are uncommon in both groups, but they are 1.72 times as common on AI-cited pages as on skipped pages, the widest gap of any feature compared. Dates recorded in a page's code are far more widespread: 50.2% of cited pages carry a machine-readable modified date, against 38.5% of skipped pages. A visible date does something the code alone does not. It tells the reader in plain text that the page is current, in the same text an AI engine reads.
The dates are real. Among pages with a readable date, the median AI-cited page had been modified 118 days before collection, about four months, against 196 days for skipped pages. 43% of cited pages had been updated in the previous 90 days, against 32.4% of skipped pages, and 41.1% of cited pages with a publish date had gone live within the past year, against 27.1%.
AI-cited pages by freshness signal
Visible "last updated" date
13.3%
Machine-readable modified date
50.2%
Modified in the past 90 days
43%
Modified in the past year
76.4%
Published in the past year
41.1%
Recent year (2024 to 2026) in the first 100 words
18.6%
| Freshness signal | AI-cited pages | Top-ranking pages AI skips |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Visible "last updated" date | 13.3% | 7.7% |
| Machine-readable modified date | 50.2% | 38.5% |
| Median days since last modified | 118 | 196 |
| Modified in the past 90 days | 43% | 32.4% |
| Modified in the past year | 76.4% | 64.6% |
| Published in the past year | 41.1% | 27.1% |
| Recent year (2024 to 2026) in the first 100 words | 18.6% | 12.7% |
The same pattern shows up in page openings. 18.6% of AI-cited pages mention 2024, 2025 or 2026 in their first 100 words, against 12.7% of skipped pages, making a recent year 46% more common in cited openings. On long guides of 2,000 to 4,999 words, 22.3% of cited pages show a "last updated" line, against 13% of skipped pages. Those are the pages most likely to hold facts that age: prices, rules, rankings and instructions for software that changes.
## Cited pages are built to be quoted
28.7%
of web pages cited by AI engines include an FAQ section.
An FAQ answer is written in the same shape as an AI answer: a question, then a short, self-contained reply that still makes sense when lifted out of the page. AI-cited pages are 47% more likely to have an FAQ section, and the gap is wider still for FAQ schema, the code that labels questions and answers, at 17.1% against 10.9%. Tables do the same job for numbers and comparisons: 26.8% of cited pages contain one, against 18.5% of skipped pages, and cited pages that use tables have a median of 2, against 1 on skipped pages.
Question headings and lists point the same way with smaller gaps. 49.9% of cited pages have at least one heading phrased as a question, against 40.9% of skipped pages, and cited pages that use them have a median of 4, against 3. Most pages in both groups use a list, 88.9% of cited pages and 79.5% of skipped ones, so the telling format is the numbered list, used for steps and rankings: 40.7% of cited pages against 33.8%.
FAQ, cited by page length
Under 300 words
1.7%
300 to 999 words
6.9%
1,000 to 1,999 words
28.1%
2,000 to 4,999 words
52.9%
5,000+ words
54.3%
| Page length | FAQ, cited | FAQ, skipped | Table, cited | Table, skipped | Question heading, cited | Question heading, skipped | Numbered list, cited | Numbered list, skipped |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Under 300 words | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 5% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 11.3% | 10.1% |
| 300 to 999 words | 6.9% | 7.7% | 9.4% | 12.3% | 23.7% | 34.2% | 24.6% | 32.9% |
| 1,000 to 1,999 words | 28.1% | 24.3% | 21.8% | 18.9% | 63.4% | 59.2% | 45.2% | 41% |
| 2,000 to 4,999 words | 52.9% | 42.2% | 46.2% | 30.9% | 75.7% | 65.4% | 55% | 48% |
| 5,000+ words | 54.3% | 38% | 66% | 54.7% | 69.3% | 58.5% | 70% | 56.1% |
The gaps grow with length. From 1,000 words up, cited pages lead on every one of these features, and the widest gaps sit in long guides: at 5,000 words or more, 54.3% of cited pages have an FAQ against 38% of skipped pages, and at 2,000 to 4,999 words, 46.2% have a table against 30.9%. An AI engine answering one narrow question has to find the right passage in thousands of words, and FAQs, tables and question headings mark where each answer sits.
## Cited pages say who wrote them
48.6%
of web pages cited by AI engines name their author.
Nearly half of AI-cited pages say who wrote them, against 36.3% of skipped pages, making cited pages 34% more likely to name an author. The gap is wider for Person schema, code that describes the author or an expert reviewer in detail: 31.5% of cited pages carry it, against 22% of skipped pages, a 1.43x gap and the largest of any schema type after FAQ schema. Article schema, which marks a page as a piece of content, follows at 28.9% against 20.9%.
AI-cited pages naming an author by page length
Under 300 words
6.1%
300 to 999 words
25%
1,000 to 1,999 words
59.3%
2,000 to 4,999 words
70.5%
5,000+ words
74.4%
| Page length | AI-cited pages naming an author | Skipped pages naming an author |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under 300 words | 6.1% | 4.6% |
| 300 to 999 words | 25% | 28.3% |
| 1,000 to 1,999 words | 59.3% | 48.5% |
| 2,000 to 4,999 words | 70.5% | 57.2% |
| 5,000+ words | 74.4% | 72.2% |
Having schema markup at all makes little difference: 63.6% of cited pages and 59.8% of skipped pages use it, because website platforms and plugins add generic markup automatically. Site-wide types show no gap either, with breadcrumb markup on 31.4% of cited pages and 30.2% of skipped ones. The markup that stands out is the kind that says what the page is and who stands behind it, and the author gap is widest on articles and guides of 1,000 to 4,999 words, where readers most want to know who is giving the advice.
## Thin pages are half as common among cited pages
2,102 words
is the average length of a web page cited by AI engines.
AI-cited pages average 2,102 words, 28% more than the 1,645 words of skipped pages, and the median cited page has 1,461 words, against 1,115. The biggest difference sits at the short end: 13% of cited pages have fewer than 300 words, against 25.4% of skipped pages. A services page with two paragraphs and a phone number can rank on the strength of the site behind it, but it gives an AI engine little to quote.
Share of AI-cited pages by page length
Under 300 words
13%
300 to 999 words
24.1%
1,000 to 1,999 words
26.5%
2,000 to 2,999 words
15.3%
3,000 to 4,999 words
12.3%
5,000+ words
8.8%
| Page length | Share of AI-cited pages | Share of skipped pages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under 300 words | 13% | 25.4% |
| 300 to 999 words | 24.1% | 20.8% |
| 1,000 to 1,999 words | 26.5% | 26.8% |
| 2,000 to 2,999 words | 15.3% | 12.7% |
| 3,000 to 4,999 words | 12.3% | 8.6% |
| 5,000+ words | 8.8% | 5.7% |
Length on its own is not the point. Among pages of 5,000 words or more, 63.2% were cited by an AI engine, against 36.2% of pages under 300 words, but the typical cited page is a substantial article of about 1,500 words, and fewer than one in ten runs past 5,000. Longer pages have room for the features in the sections above: 52.9% of cited pages of 2,000 to 4,999 words include an FAQ section, against 1.7% of cited pages under 300 words.
## Statistics, video and early answers do not set cited pages apart
59.8%
of web pages cited by AI engines contain five or more statistics, fewer than the 64.2% of pages AI skips.
Three popular tips for AI search run the other way. Pages AI skips are slightly more number-heavy: the median cited page carries 9 statistics against 11 on the median skipped page, and 83.7% of skipped pages contain at least one statistic, against 76.2% of cited pages. Numbers are close to universal among pages that rank well, so having them cannot set a page apart; what an AI engine lifts is one fact stated clearly in a sentence.
AI-cited pages by popular tip
Five or more statistics on the page
59.8%
Embedded video
11.1%
Answer in the first 100 words
37%
A question in the first 100 words
16.5%
| Popular tip | AI-cited pages | Top-ranking pages AI skips |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Five or more statistics on the page | 59.8% | 64.2% |
| Embedded video | 11.1% | 14.1% |
| Answer in the first 100 words | 37% | 40.6% |
| A question in the first 100 words | 16.5% | 19.6% |
Embedded video shows the widest negative gap of any feature: cited pages are 21% less likely to have one. In articles of 2,000 to 4,999 words, 8.2% of cited pages embed a video against 11.5% of skipped pages; AI engines build answers from text, and a video that stands in for the written explanation leaves them less to quote. The exception is short pages built around the video itself: 41% of cited pages under 300 words embed one, against 32% of skipped pages.
Answering in the opening lines shows no advantage either. 37% of cited pages cover most of the question's key words in their first 100 words, against 40.6% of skipped pages, and on average a cited page's opening holds 55.8% of the question's key words, against 60.4%. An AI engine that reads the whole page can find the answer wherever it sits. What cited openings do more often is state a recent year.
## What this means for content teams
Start with freshness. Review your most important pages on a schedule, every few months for anything about prices, rules or products. When you change something real, show "Last updated" with the date near the top and record the same date in the page's code. Do not change the date without changing the content.
Then build each key page to be quoted. Add a short FAQ section from real customer questions, marked up with FAQ schema. Put prices, specifications and comparisons in real tables, turn some headings into the questions customers ask, and use numbered lists for steps and rankings. Put a named author with relevant credentials on every article and guide, with Person and Article markup, and replace "Admin" or "Team" bylines. Expand or merge thin pages under 300 words into complete answers.
Spend less effort on the tips that show no advantage. Keep publishing data and video, but state each key number in a plain sentence and write out a video's main points in text on the page. Working with an ai seo company (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/ai-seo-services) like Suff Digital helps you find which of your ranking pages are missing these features and fix the ones that matter most first.
## Embed this research
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Source: What AI-Cited Web Pages Have in Common: 72% More Likely to Show a 'Last Updated' Date - Suff Digital
## Cite this study
APA
Suff Digital. (2026). What AI-Cited Web Pages Have in Common: 72% More Likely to Show a 'Last Updated' Date. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common
Plain link
What AI-Cited Web Pages Have in Common: 72% More Likely to Show a 'Last Updated' Date - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common
## Frequently asked questions
### What do the web pages AI engines cite have in common?
### Should I show a "last updated" date on my pages?
### How long are the pages AI engines cite?
### Do statistics make a page more likely to be cited by AI?
### Does embedding video help pages get cited by AI?
### Does schema markup matter for AI citations?
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- AI SEO Only 0.3% of the Search Results ChatGPT Retrieves Are the Pages It Ends Up Citing: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-retrieved-vs-cited
- AI SEO 87.7% of the Pages ChatGPT Cites Aren't on Google's First Page: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-sites-not-on-page-one
- AI SEO 44.9% of the Websites AI Engines Cite Are Small, Low-Authority Sites: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/low-authority-sites-ai-citations
- 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
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"@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common#dataset",
"name": "What AI-Cited Web Pages Have in Common: 72% More Likely to Show a 'Last Updated' Date",
"description": "The web pages ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode cite are 72% more likely to show a visible \"last updated\" date than top-ranking Google results for the same questions that no AI engine cited. They are also more likely to carry an FAQ section, a table and a named author, and less likely to be thin, while more statistics, embedded video and an answer in the first lines show no advantage.",
"url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common",
"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": "Web pages cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode; Google's top 10 search results for the same questions"
},
{
"@type": "FAQPage",
"@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/what-ai-cited-pages-have-in-common#faq",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What do the web pages AI engines cite have in common?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Compared with top-ranking Google results that no AI engine cited, web pages cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode are 72% more likely to show a visible \"last updated\" date, 47% more likely to have an FAQ section, 45% more likely to include a table and 34% more likely to name their author (September 2026)."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Should I show a \"last updated\" date on my pages?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "13.3% of AI-cited web pages show a visible \"last updated\" date, against 7.7% of top-ranking pages AI skips, the widest gap of any page feature compared, and the median cited page had been updated 118 days earlier, against 196 days."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How long are the pages AI engines cite?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "The average AI-cited web page has 2,102 words and the median 1,461, against 1,645 and 1,115 words for top-ranking pages AI skips. 13% of cited pages have fewer than 300 words, against 25.4% of skipped pages."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Do statistics make a page more likely to be cited by AI?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Not on their own. 59.8% of AI-cited web pages contain five or more statistics, against 64.2% of top-ranking pages AI skips, and the median cited page carries 9 statistics against 11."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Does embedding video help pages get cited by AI?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Not in articles. 11.1% of AI-cited web pages embed a video, against 14.1% of top-ranking pages AI skips, so cited pages are 21% less likely to have one."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Does schema markup matter for AI citations?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "The type matters more than having it. 63.6% of AI-cited web pages use schema of some kind, against 59.8% of skipped pages, while Person schema appears on 31.5% of cited pages against 22%."
}
}
]
}
]
}
]
```