Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed. Zhang Kai, He Xinyue and Yao Jingang propose separating source selection from how much a cited page contributes to an AI-generated answer. Their analysis of 602 prompts compares ChatGPT, Google AI Overview/Gemini and Perplexity; descriptive associations do not establish a causal recipe for ranking or visibility.
MediaPost report (Sept. 28, 2026) on falling traffic to media websites as Google and other companies route readers to AI summaries, citing a drop from 70 million monthly visitors in July 2024 to about 47 million in July 2026.
Chartbeat analysis of two years of publisher traffic: articles are the front door about two-thirds of the time, homepages have shifted toward reader loyalty and recirculation, and AI overviews are part of the changing referral mix.
Why I recommend it: Free post from an analytics vendor, so the framing serves Chartbeat's products. The raw split — 67% of visits landing on articles versus 33% on homepages — is their own network data and worth knowing if you publish or run a content business.
Search Engine Land's free guide by Curtis Weyant, last updated 30 December 2025, arguing the SEO-versus-GEO argument is a false choice and that the real change is visibility splitting across Google, ChatGPT and social platforms. Quotes the competing positions directly, including Google's "good SEO is good GEO" line. About a 13-minute read, free, no sign-up.
Why I recommend it: If you run a small business and you are being sold a separate "GEO package," read this first. It is the most level-headed free piece I have found on the subject, and it is from a trade publication that lives off this industry, so treat its optimism about measurement tools accordingly.
A free AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources and can run research tasks, useful for company research before an interview or scanning an industry quickly.
Why I recommend it: Good for the twenty minutes of company research you should do before every interview.
A research report based on roughly 95,000 search result records across 3,000 prompts in Claude, laying out seven patterns behind which sites AI assistants cite - useful if you want your business or personal site to surface in AI answers.
Why I recommend it: AI answers are becoming a discovery channel whether we like it or not. If you run a business or a personal site, this is a practical read on being findable there.
Google's 2026 retail marketing playbook on how AI search is changing holiday shopping, with consumer behavior data, channel guidance, and campaign checklists for the peak season.
Why I recommend it: The numbers in here are the argument for rethinking how customers find you. Even if you run a one-person shop, chapter one is worth your afternoon.
