GrowByData study finds fewer Reddit citations in ChatGPT
New research reports a citation decline in retail and travel prompts without establishing why.
GrowByData published an October 2 study reporting fewer Reddit citations across its US retail and travel ChatGPT prompts. Its observations cover May through September. They do not establish an intentional OpenAI policy or a reduction in hallucinations.
Comparing May 12 to June 11 with August 28 to September 27, Reddit’s citation share fell from 11.95 percent to 0.27 percent in retail and from 10.78 percent to 0.11 percent in travel. Wikipedia also declined. These percentages describe citation counts, not the share of answers using Reddit.
What the sample measures
The windows included 4,733 and 4,771 retail runs, and 2,380 and 2,385 travel runs. Coverage spans 12 metropolitan markets and a national view. GrowByData supplied the candidate domain list. Its measurements capture citations, without revealing every source consulted or proving the cause.
How OpenAI describes search
OpenAI’s existing search documentation says ranking uses several factors aimed at relevance and reliability, with no guaranteed placement. Queries can be rewritten and sent to search partners, with further searches following the initial results. Those general descriptions do not identify the reason for this measured change.
The same guide explains that users can open individual citations and, where available, view a Sources list containing cited material and other relevant links. It warns that search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and recommends checking whether a source actually supports the answer.
Keep visibility separate from accuracy
A citation percentage answers a visibility question. Establishing improved accuracy would require checking the answers themselves against reliable evidence. A publisher should therefore avoid treating a larger citation share as a quality certificate, or a smaller share as proof of deliberate exclusion.
This research is separate from the access deadlines in ByteForward’s Reddit RSS and API migration coverage. The two stories address different changes.
Featured image is an original AI generated illustration created for ByteForward. It depicts search references conceptually.
