There is no conclusive evidence that backlinks make ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews cite a site. What is known is that Google's AI features rely on its Search ranking systems, where links are one signal among many, and that the public studies available show correlations, not causation, with more weight for brand mentions than for links. Any promise of appearing in AI answers thanks to backlinks is, today, a promise nobody can keep with certainty.
What Google, OpenAI and Perplexity say
In its guide to AI features, Google explains that AI Overviews and AI Mode are based on its core ranking and quality systems: they use a technique called grounding to retrieve pages from its index and show links that support the answer. To be eligible, a page must be indexed and able to be shown with a snippet in Search. That is why SEO best practices remain the foundation.
OpenAI states on its help page that ChatGPT can search the web and show sources, that it sometimes works with other search providers, and that it ranks results using several factors, without guaranteeing an appearance. To be eligible, the site must allow the OAI-SearchBot crawler (see the crawler documentation). Perplexity, for its part, describes PerplexityBot as the crawler used to show and link sites in its results.
None of these companies claims that a number of backlinks determines whether a site is cited.
What the evidence says about backlinks
Ahrefs analyzed 75,000 brands and published that brand mentions on the web showed the highest correlation with visibility in AI Overviews (0.664), while the number of backlinks had a much lower correlation (0.218), Domain Rating 0.326 and referring domains 0.295, according to its study. The same text includes results from Seer Interactive on ChatGPT with low correlations for backlinks (0.10) and for domain rank (0.25).
Ahrefs insists that correlation is not causation, and the data should be read with limits in mind: it is a single tool vendor, the analysis filtered domains with DR above 40 and a keyword with at least 800 monthly searches, and it measures brand mentions in AI Overviews, not on every platform.
In another Ahrefs analysis, using June 2025 data from the 50 most-mentioned sites in each system, the correlation between appearing on highly linked pages and visibility was strong in AI Overviews (0.70), moderate in Perplexity (0.40) and very weak in ChatGPT (0.12). Its own author presents it cautiously: he does not consider it a direct signal.
How to interpret it
- Backlinks may help indirectly if they contribute to a page ranking well in Search, because Google's AI features retrieve pages through those systems. That is a reasonable inference, not a measured result.
- For ChatGPT and Perplexity there is no public documentation that backlinks are a factor, and the correlation data is weak or mixed.
- A paid link qualified as sponsored or nofollow has an even less clear effect: there are no public studies measuring its influence on AI answers.
What to do then
- Secure the basics: crawlable, indexable pages, and search crawlers allowed in robots.txt and in the firewall.
- Publish original, useful content that answers real questions. Google recommends content that is unique and not generic.
- Work on your brand's presence with real, relevant coverage, in outlets and sources your audience reads. Google warns that pursuing inauthentic mentions on the web is not as useful as it seems.
- Measure with official tools when they exist (Search Console's generative AI performance report) and with manual tests, knowing that AI answers change.
How SEOfy approaches it
SEOfy offers a package called AI Visibility, aimed at publishing in authoritative outlets with the intention of increasing the probability of appearing in sources that AI tools consult. It is an intention, not a guarantee: what SEOfy ensures is publication in the agreed outlet, not rankings, traffic or citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity or AI Overviews. Link attributes and labeling are stated per outlet before you order.
Frequently asked questions
Do backlinks influence AI Overviews?
Google says its AI features rely on its ranking systems, where links are one signal among many. There is no public measurement quantifying their direct effect on AI Overviews.
Does ChatGPT cite sites based on their number of links?
OpenAI does not say so in its documentation. The available correlation data is weak and does not prove causation.
What matters more: backlinks or mentions?
The available studies show a higher correlation with brand mentions, but they are correlations and do not demonstrate cause. Both can coexist in relevant coverage.
Related reading
- Brand mentions vs backlinks: what matters more for AI
- How to appear in ChatGPT in Spanish: a realistic guide
- Do backlinks still matter in 2026? What Google says
Next step
If you want to build brand presence in Latin American media with realistic expectations, talk to the SEOfy team.
Sources consulted
- developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide
- help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search
- platform.openai.com/docs/bots
- docs.perplexity.ai/guides/bots
- ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overview-brand-correlation/
- ahrefs.com/blog/does-being-mentioned-on-highly-linked-pages-influence-ai-mentions/
- www.seofy.link/