Only 40% of the Numbers AI Cites Trace Back to a Real Study

Only 40% of AI-cited statistics trace back to a study

Trakkr Research asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google's AI Overviews 200 everyday questions that demand a figure, then traced 1,285 cited statistics up to five pages deep. Just 40% reached a study that actually says the same thing; 8% reached one where the number or context had shifted, 40% hit sources that were locked, gone or silent, and 11% led nowhere. More than half of first citations were company blogs, and on 31 of 71 questions the five assistants' figures were 20 points or more apart.