Reddit decides who AI recommends: what I found measuring 241 software categories

In a recent experiment involving 241 software categories, Reddit emerged as the dominant source of recommendations, appearing in 93% of the categories and providing 1,202 individual answers. This finding surprised the researcher, who set out to measure which sources AI assistants, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, turned to when recommending software solutions.

To conduct the study, the researcher asked six buyer-style questions for each category, including "best X," "best free X," "most affordable X," "best X for small teams," "what X should I use," and "X recommendations." The answers were then recorded, noting every product mentioned and every source domain cited. The results revealed that while review sites like Capterra may seem important, they only appeared in 12% of the categories, with Reddit being the primary source in the majority of cases.

Furthermore, the study found that 62% of the time, there was no single clear winner in a category, with multiple tools often tied for the top spot. This volatility meant that the "best" answer could change significantly with a slight modification to the question. Additionally, the researcher discovered that a few brands were repeatedly mentioned across unrelated categories, suggesting that their names were frequently associated with the categories in which they appeared.

To increase the chances of being recommended by AI assistants, software vendors should focus on being present on Reddit and Quora threads, as well as independent roundups and G2 entries. Building an in-house "best X" comparison page can also improve visibility, as vendors' own pages were frequently cited by the AI assistants.