- New Australian research analysing 360 AI responses found that a business's size, marketing budget and brand recognition have little bearing on whether it gets recommended by AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.
- The strongest predictor of AI recommendation was how widely a business was mentioned and linked to across other websites; businesses in the top 25% for online mentions and links were recommended 1.9 times more often than those in the bottom 25%.
- Ranking highly on Google made almost no measurable difference, with businesses dominating page one statistically no more likely to be recommended by AI than those ranked much lower.
- Smaller and niche Australian businesses, including WhatsTheDamage.com.au and Leadkit.com.au, earned notable shares of AI recommendations in their categories despite far smaller online footprints than larger competitors.
The Underdogs Are Winning: New Research Reveals What Gets Australian Businesses Recommended by AI
A new study of 360 AI responses finds that being big, well known or well funded has little to do with whether a business gets recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity. What matters is how widely a business is talked about online.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1 October 2026. New research into how AI tools recommend Australian businesses has found that size, marketing budget and brand recognition count for far less than most business owners would expect. The strongest predictor of whether a business gets recommended by AI, the study found, is how widely it is mentioned and linked to across other websites.
Australian businesses in the top 25% for how widely they were linked to and talked about online were recommended by AI 1.9 times more often than those in the bottom 25%, regardless of company size or marketing budget. Ranking first on Google made almost no measurable difference. Businesses dominating page one of Google were statistically no more likely to be recommended by AI than businesses much further down the search results.
The research, from Sydney digital marketing agency EarnedMedia.com.au, analysed 360 AI responses from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity to 90 everyday questions Australians actually ask, from the cost of a kitchen renovation to which legal service to use for a small business matter.
What Gets a Business Recommended by AI
For every business cited by an AI tool in the study, the researchers measured two things: how many other websites linked to it, and how well it ranked on Google. Only one of those made a meaningful difference. Businesses with a broad base of mentions and links from a wide range of other sites were recommended by AI roughly twice as often as those without one. A business's Google ranking had almost no bearing on whether AI recommended it.
That pattern showed up across small businesses throughout the study, not just large ones. Several niche Australian websites, among them a renovation-advice site called
WhatsTheDamage.com.au and a small business platform called Leadkit.com.au, earned a notable share of AI recommendations in their categories despite far smaller online footprints than typical large competitors. Specialist B2B platforms such as Sprintlaw, WolfIQ and eWAY saw a similar pattern in their own categories.
Why This Is Good News for Small Business
"This is genuinely good news for small and medium Australian businesses," said Nick Brogden, Founder of EarnedMedia.com.au. "For years, leading brands with big budgets had the advantage in search because they could simply outspend everyone else. This research suggests AI search works differently. If other legitimate websites, publications and review sites are talking about your business, you have a real shot at being the one AI recommends, no matter how big your competitors are or how long they have been established."
What This Means for Your Business
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Being talked about matters more than being big: Getting mentioned and linked to by a range of other legitimate websites counts for more than size, age or brand recognition.
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A high Google ranking isn't enough on its own: The study found almost no statistical link between ranking on page one of Google and being recommended by AI, so a strong Google ranking alone won't guarantee a business is included in AI answers.
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Get listed where AI is already looking: Comparison sites and review platforms, such as Canstar, Finder and Choice, are a common source for AI-generated recommendations, so being accurately listed on them helps.
About the Study
The study analysed 3,069 citations across 360 AI responses to 90 real-world Australian consumer and business questions, spanning nine industries including home services, healthcare, real estate, ecommerce, personal finance, legal, education, travel and fitness. Website authority and backlink data were benchmarked using industry-standard tools from Ahrefs and Semrush across 137 Australian websites.
The full study, methodology and data tables are available at earnedmedia.com.au/ai-seo/backlinks-beat-google-rankings-ai-citations.
Contact details:
Earned Media
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 416168991
Website: www.earnedmedia.com.au
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
High-resolution charts, data exports, and interview availability are available upon request. The full study is published at earnedmedia.com.au/ai-seo/backlinks-beat-google-rankings-ai-citations.
