In the October 6, 2026 release of the Machine Relations Index (mri_score_v2.0+2026-10-06+2251ea11a4db), reddit.com was cited in 10.62% of observed AI answer runs, 2,316 of 21,813: the highest citation rate of the 27,747 source domains the Index has seen cited, at confidence tier A. In the release a week earlier (mri_score_v2.0+2026-09-29+3d7cca280bd7), its rate was 11.66%, 2,141 of 18,368 runs. Across the 143-day window it was cited by Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, and not by ChatGPT or Claude.
This is the weekly Machine Relations Index Report, built by code from the Index's daily public release and compared with the release of September 29, 2026. Every figure links to the Index page that publishes it. The previous edition is Machine Relations Index Report, September 23, 2026: Healthcare Services publishes as forecast, and 27 community-platform domains still out-lead 1,266 editorial publications.
The release at a glance #
| Measure | Release 2026-09-29 | Release 2026-10-06 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observation window | 136 days | 143 days | +7 days |
| Observed answer runs | 18,368 | 21,813 | +3,445 |
| Citation events | 143,123 | 168,406 | +25,283 |
| Cited source domains | 25,105 | 27,747 | +2,642 |
| Eligible questions in the basket | 1,010 | 1,073 | +63 |
| Published segments | 99 of 151 | 106 of 151 | +7 |
| Segments still collecting | 52 | 45 | -7 |
| Graded domains, tiers A / B / C | 14 / 70 / 493 | 17 / 86 / 581 | +107 |
A segment is one subject category paired with one question shape. It publishes once it has 10 observed runs across 7 distinct run dates. A citation rate is the share of observed answer runs in which at least one engine cited the domain.
The ten most-cited sources #
| Rank | Source | Source role | Citation rate | Runs cited | Tier | Engines citing | Rank a week earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | reddit.com | Community and social platform | 10.62% | 2,316 of 21,813 | A | 4 of 6 | 1 |
| 2 | youtube.com | Search or media platform | 7.52% | 1,641 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 2 |
| 3 | linkedin.com | Community and social platform | 5.99% | 1,306 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 3 |
| 4 | forbes.com | Editorial publication | 4.25% | 927 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 5 |
| 5 | medium.com | Community and social platform | 4.10% | 895 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 4 |
| 6 | arxiv.org | Academic and government source | 2.86% | 623 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 7 |
| 7 | nih.gov | Academic and government source | 2.75% | 599 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 6 |
| 8 | techradar.com | Editorial publication | 2.75% | 599 of 21,813 | A | 4 of 6 | 8 |
| 9 | g2.com | Market and company database | 2.68% | 584 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 9 |
| 10 | gartner.com | Analyst and consulting research | 2.37% | 516 of 21,813 | A | 6 of 6 | 10 |
Rates are measured over all 21,813 observed runs, so they read lower than any single segment's rate. "Engines citing" counts the engines observed citing the domain at least once in the window. The public release does not publish a per-engine citation rate, so this report does not rank sources engine by engine.
The ten most-cited editorial publications #
| Rank among 1,634 classified editorial publications | Publication | Citation rate | Runs cited | Tier | Engines citing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | forbes.com | 4.25% | 927 of 21,813 | A | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 2 | techradar.com | 2.75% | 599 of 21,813 | A | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity |
| 3 | yahoo.com | 2.15% | 469 of 21,813 | A | ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 4 | healthline.com | 1.90% | 414 of 21,813 | B | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 5 | nerdwallet.com | 1.63% | 355 of 21,813 | A | ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 6 | techtarget.com | 1.49% | 324 of 21,813 | A | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 7 | nytimes.com | 1.02% | 223 of 21,813 | B | Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 8 | cnbc.com | 0.99% | 216 of 21,813 | B | ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 9 | peoplemanagingpeople.com | 0.90% | 197 of 21,813 | B | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
| 10 | pcmag.com | 0.88% | 193 of 21,813 | B | Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity |
Engine coverage #
| Engine | Model | Status | Days answered | Runs returned | Runs with a citation | Runs returned a week earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-4.1-mini-2025-04-14 | healthy | 139 | 4,667 | 4,056 | 3,864 |
| Claude | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | healthy | 142 | 4,762 | 3,906 | 3,957 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.8-flash | healthy | 121 | 4,762 | 1,973 | 3,957 |
| Google AI Mode | not disclosed | healthy | 101 | 1,682 | 1,338 | 1,549 |
| Google AI Overviews | not disclosed | healthy | 84 | 1,171 | 734 | 1,077 |
| Perplexity | sonar | healthy | 143 | 4,769 | 4,768 | 3,964 |
Engine counts come from the release manifest at machinerelations.ai/data/mri-release-manifest.json. An engine that answers on fewer days contributes fewer runs to every rate above.
Largest week-over-week movers among graded domains #
Of the 577 domains graded A, B or C in both releases, these rates moved most. Change is the difference between the two published cumulative rates, in percentage points. It records that a rate moved, not why: in the same week the basket went from 1,010 to 1,073 eligible questions and observed runs from 18,368 to 21,813, so a moved rate can reflect what was asked as much as how engines cite.
Rates that rose #
| Source | Tier now (a week earlier) | Rate now | Rate a week earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nytimes.com | B (B) | 1.02% | 0.87% | +0.15 pts |
| pcmag.com | B (B) | 0.88% | 0.73% | +0.15 pts |
| cnet.com | B (C) | 0.61% | 0.48% | +0.13 pts |
| yahoo.com | A (A) | 2.15% | 2.04% | +0.11 pts |
| forbes.com | A (A) | 4.25% | 4.15% | +0.10 pts |
Rates that fell #
| Source | Tier now (a week earlier) | Rate now | Rate a week earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| reddit.com | A (A) | 10.62% | 11.66% | -1.04 pts |
| youtube.com | A (A) | 7.52% | 8.21% | -0.69 pts |
| medium.com | A (A) | 4.10% | 4.61% | -0.51 pts |
| linkedin.com | A (A) | 5.99% | 6.45% | -0.46 pts |
| landbase.com | A (A) | 1.38% | 1.64% | -0.26 pts |
Segment leaders that changed #
| Category | Question shape | Leader a week earlier | Leader now | Rate now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Infrastructure | Problem-first research | reddit.com, 18.38% | arxiv.org and reddit.com (tied) | 15.76% |
| AI Security & Privacy | Problem-first research | arxiv.org, 17.04% | arxiv.org and techradar.com (tied) | 15.85% |
| AI Visibility & GEO | Best tools | therankmasters.com, 23.94% | seranking.com | 22.67% |
| AI Visibility & GEO | Top lists | youtube.com, 26.73% | tryprofound.com and youtube.com (tied) | 22.31% |
| Cybersecurity | Comparisons | exabeam.com, 24.82% | vectra.ai | 24.55% |
| Education & Training | How buyers choose | reddit.com, 17.69% | coggno.com | 15.63% |
| Education & Training | Problem-first research | linkedin.com, 15.00% | indeed.com and linkedin.com (tied) | 13.08% |
| Emergent Prosumer | Best tools | reddit.com and techradar.com (tied), 21.00% | techradar.com | 23.85% |
| Emergent Prosumer | Top lists | digitalcameraworld.com and reddit.com (tied), 19.80% | digitalcameraworld.com | 18.32% |
| Enterprise Software | Problem-first research | reddit.com, 13.21% | zapier.com | 11.03% |
| Family Software | How buyers choose | apple.com and reddit.com (tied), 17.31% | apple.com | 17.16% |
| Family Software | Is it worth it | reddit.com, 21.00% | impulsec.com | 20.00% |
| Fintech | How buyers choose | pxp.io, 24.51% | solidgate.com | 21.97% |
| Healthcare Services | How buyers choose | omnimd.com, 14.95% | elevatepfs.com and omnimd.com (tied) | 12.98% |
| Healthcare Services | Problem-first research | medicalbillersandcoders.com, 11.11% | medicalbillersandcoders.com and youtube.com (tied) | 9.49% |
| Healthcare Services | Comparisons | adsc.com, 17.76% | medicalbillersandcoders.com | 17.52% |
A leader is the domain the Index ranks first in the segment, on the segment's own denominator; domains tied with it on rate are listed with it.
Segments that crossed the evidence floor #
| Category | Question shape | Runs observed | Run dates | Leader | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iGaming & Betting | How buyers choose | 105 | 7 | softswiss.com and track360.io (tied) | 17.14% |
| iGaming & Betting | Problem-first research | 106 | 7 | deucescracked.com | 11.32% |
| iGaming & Betting | Top lists | 98 | 7 | geocomply.com | 27.55% |
| iGaming & Betting | Comparisons | 102 | 7 | rotowire.com and track360.io (tied) | 20.59% |
| Industrial | Best tools | 102 | 7 | feeco.com | 17.65% |
| Industrial | How buyers choose | 99 | 7 | workshopcalc.com | 16.16% |
| Industrial | Is it worth it | 101 | 7 | americancleanrooms.com | 20.79% |
Segment leaders by category #
The leader of every published segment, with its citation rate on that segment's runs. "Collecting" segments have not yet cleared the evidence floor of 10 runs across 7 run dates and carry no leader.
How this report is built #
- Source: Machine Relations Index release
mri_score_v2.0+2026-10-06+2251ea11a4db(methodology mri_score_v2.0, window 2026-05-10 to 2026-10-06), compared withmri_score_v2.0+2026-09-29+3d7cca280bd7. The current release is public at machinerelations.ai/data/machine-relations-index.json; figures for the earlier release are read from the same file as committed on 2026-09-29. - Rates are cumulative over the observation window, not rates for the week alone. Week-over-week change compares two published rates and is never read as a cause.
- Only segments the release publishes, at 10 or more observed runs across 7 or more run dates, are reported. Only domains with a confidence tier (A, B or C) are ranked or listed as movers; tiers are the Index's own.
- Domains operated by the publisher of this site or its related parties (authoritytech.io, machinerelations.ai, jaxonparrott.com, christianlehman.com) are left out of every ranking in this report. Their Index profiles remain public.
- The method is set out at machinerelations.ai/index, and known data issues and corrections are logged in the Index methodology and update log. Corrections to an edition are made there and in the edition.
FAQ #
What is the Machine Relations Index Report? A weekly reading of the daily public release of the Machine Relations Index: the most-cited sources, the largest movers among graded domains and the leader of every published segment, each figure tied to a release id and linked to the Index page that publishes it.
Does a first place mean a source is better? No. It means answer engines cited it most often for that question shape in that category during the window. The Index measures citation, not accuracy; whether a cited source supports the answer is a separate measurement.
Why can a rate fall while a source gains citations? A rate is citations over observed runs. reddit.com was cited in 2,316 runs this week against 2,141 a week earlier, while observed runs grew to 21,813; the rate moves with both.