Research. 119,372 AI citations measured, and counting
Invisible to ChatGPT.
Even in the categories where Canada has a real contender, AI assistants name a Canadian company about once in every five company mentions. In categories picked without regard to Canada, it is under 1%. Funding does not explain who gets named. Distribution does.
Paul Xue, Spacestation Labs. Measured Oct 25 to Nov 1, 2026. Updated weekly.
- 1 in 5
- company mentions go to a Canadian company, in the 15 categories where Canada has a real contender
- 0.97%
- Canadian share in 4 control categories picked without regard to Canada
- 4x
- as many mentions for US rivals as for Canadian leaders
- R² 0.01
- how much funding explains of the ranking. Roundup presence explains 27%.
What 119,372 citations showed
PromptWatch asked ChatGPT search, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode 150 brand-free buyer questions across 15 categories, from a Canadian and a US location, every day. So far that is 11,900 answers and 119,372 citations. Shares count the top 20 brands per category and location.
- Distribution, not funding, decides who gets named. Funding explains essentially none of the ranking. Presence in Google's "best X" roundups explains 27%. Five Canadian underdogs out-rank far better-funded US rivals.
- It is about how often and how early, not tone. Canadian leaders are mentioned 16 points less often and named first 8 points less often. They are described just as positively.
- Location barely matters. Saying "Canadian" does. Asking from Canada lifts Canada's share about 2 points. When the buyer says they are Canadian, invisible companies appear.
- The lists are written by neighbours. About 42% of AI citations are roundups, comparisons and reviews, mostly vendor-written. Zapier tops four categories.
- Reddit is splitting. Since Reddit's Oct 29 login-wall announcement, Google AI Mode cites it about a third less, ChatGPT search barely cites it, and Perplexity cites it 13 times more from the US than from Canada.
Canada's share, by category
Canadian share of the Canada plus US company mentions in each study category. The control categories (coding, notetakers, sales AI, video generation) are not in this table: Canada got 0.97% there, and Fellow was the only Canadian name in any top 20.
Canadian share of company mentions, by category
Canada plus US company mentions in each category's answers, all five assistants, both locations. The hairline is the control categories.
Control categories: 0.97%
- Tax research53.1%
- Contract AI52.8%
- Competitive intel30.3%
Show the numbersHide the numbers
| Category | Canadian share | Asked from Canada | Asked from US | Most-named Canadian | Most-named US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax research | 53.1% | 55.8% | 50.6% | Blue J 52 | TaxGPT 32 |
| Contract AI | 52.8% | 53.2% | 52.3% | Spellbook 64 | Harvey 41 |
| Competitive intel | 30.3% | 30.3% | 30.3% | Klue 76 | Crayon 70 |
12 more categories in the full report, down to 1.6%
Get the full report
The rest of the page: the full category table, the five underdogs that out-rank better-funded US rivals, the companies that only exist when the buyer says "Canadian", why roundups beat funding, the exact pages each assistant trusts in all 15 categories, six alternative explanations we tested, the Reddit split, and the six-step playbook.
- All 15 categories, by location and by assistant, and Canada's 10 most AI-visible startups
- The 15 "sources AI trusts" lists, three pages per category
- Underdogs, hidden champions and the funding model
- Reddit after the login wall, with our own client data
- The playbook, in the order the evidence supports