A new study shows that self-promotional \u201cbest\u201d lists play a bigger role in AI recommendations than most people realize. When these lists are updated and clearly structured, they are far more likely to appear in ChatGPT\u2019s answers.<\/b><\/p>\n
Ahrefs<\/span><\/a> researcher Glen Allsopp reviewed more than 26,000 URLs cited in ChatGPT\u2019s responses and found a consistent pattern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When users ask for software suggestions, product options, or agency recommendations, ChatGPT often relies on comparison-style blog posts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n His team analyzed 750 top-of-funnel prompts and saw these lists appear again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n The research, completed in December 2025, compared ChatGPT\u2019s sources with trends seen across other AI tools. The goal was to identify which types of pages show up most often when AI systems provide recommendations.<\/span><\/p>\n The findings drew quick reactions from industry leaders as well. Rand Fishkin noted that the research highlights how easily brands can push their way into AI-generated answers through heavily self-promotional \u201cbest of\u201d lists, raising questions about how AI tools evaluate quality and intent.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you think AI tools are ethically shady, you have a moral duty to check out @ahrefs<\/a> research from last week showing how to effectively spam your way into AI mentions with self-promotional “best of” lists \ud83d\udc47 pic.twitter.com\/7V4wIPNM7h<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rand Fishkin (follow @randderuiter on Threads) (@randfish) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n