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Threads, Channels, or Profiles?
Where ChatGPT Finds “Truth” — And What That Means for Your Brand
John Sukowaty
February 14, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
 | TL;DR: As of the date this is published, Reddit dominates ChatGPT citations but it’s threads, not profiles. YouTube and LinkedIn reward sustained authority. Instagram rewards individual content pieces. If you’re building for AI visibility, format matters more than platform size. |
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Table of Contents
What Does This Mean For SEO?
Reddit Is Winning But Only If the Thread Answers the Question
Reddit captures 3–4% of all ChatGPT citations, about 10× more than any other social platform.
But here’s the key detail: 99% of Reddit citations point to individual threads.
Not subreddit homepages.
Not profiles.
Not corporate accounts.
Reddit works because discussion threads often function like self-contained knowledge hubs. When a thread fully answers a question, it becomes cite-worthy.
The takeaway: If you’re active on Reddit, the value isn’t in presence. It’s in completeness.
When ChatGPT cites YouTube, it cites channel pages 65% of the time. Individual videos account for just 2.3%. Add channel subpages, and nearly 80% of citations are channel-level.
That’s a strong signal.
ChatGPT isn’t just referencing a single clip. It’s referencing creators who represent ongoing expertise. This suggests sustained authority beats isolated viral content.
LinkedIn Rewards Individuals Over Companies
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Nearly half of LinkedIn citations point to personal profiles (47%), compared to 21% for company pages.
LinkedIn articles (“Pulse”) also show meaningful presence. Authority here is tied to people. Not logos.
For B2B brands especially, executive visibility and subject-matter authority appear to carry more weight than corporate posting volume.
Instagram Is the Opposite of YouTube
Instagram citations split across reels (36%), posts (29%), and profiles (30%).
Unlike YouTube, there’s no single dominant format. Combined, individual pieces of content (reels + posts) slightly outweigh profiles.
Instagram functions more like a content-first ecosystem in ChatGPT citations.
What Can I Do About It?
1. Treat Reddit Like Structured Q&A
If Reddit dominates citations, and threads account for nearly all of it, then the strategy is clear:
Contribute to or create structured, complete answers inside relevant discussions. Short comments won’t move the needle. Depth will.
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If ChatGPT favors channel pages over individual videos, that changes how you think about YouTube.
Optimize the channel itself:
Clear expertise positioning
Thematic consistency
Strong “About” section
Videos matter. But the channel carries the authority signal.
Personal profiles outperform company pages in citations.
That means:
Strengthen executive presence
Publish thoughtful articles
Build visible subject-matter expertise
In AI visibility terms, people win.
4. Diversify on Instagram
Since no single format dominates, balance becomes the strategy.
Reels. Posts. Profile optimization.
Instagram’s balanced citation pattern makes it resilient across content types.
A Quick Reality Check
This reflects ChatGPT citation behavior.
Other AI systems may behave differently depending on how they retrieve and integrate content. Some may favor video-level citations. Others may prioritize recency or enterprise domains.
The point isn’t that one platform replaces SEO. It’s that AI systems are forming their own citation preferences, and those preferences follow structure.
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Final Thought
If AI visibility is becoming part of the growth conversation, the better question isn’t:
“Which social platform should we use?”
It’s:
“What does this AI actually cite on that platform?”
Threads.
Channels.
Profiles.
Posts.
Different platforms win for different reasons. The format is the strategy.
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