The Endurance Citation Map
Where does ChatGPT actually look when someone shops for endurance gear? We probed it with the buying questions shoppers ask across 6 categories and classified 1,259 citations from 189 responses. This page is the map: for each category, the shopper moments and the sources ChatGPT leans on at each one.
Method
Each category was probed brand-free — the questions name no brand, so the map describes the category's landscape, not any one brand's position in it. Citations were read from ChatGPT's answers (with web search) and classified by source and shopper moment. Measured August 2026; we re-measure on a rolling basis and date every number.
Each page counts once per answer, however many times that answer links to it. Before 4 September 2026 a page linked twice counted twice, which made these totals 12–23% higher depending on the category — so a citation total quoted from this page before that date is not comparable with this one. The share-of-answers percentages below are unaffected: they have always counted a source once per answer.
This measures where ChatGPT looks — a correlational signal, not a promise that it recommends anyone, and not a claim that appearing in these sources moves a sale. Nobody can make ChatGPT cite a brand, including us.
Sources to know first
Cited in 10 of 32 probe responses for running apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Hearst.
Cited in 7 of 32 probe responses for running apparel, and in 2 other measured categories of 6 in the cluster.
Sources to know first
Cited in 14 of 32 probe responses for cycling apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Future plc.
Cited in 8 of 32 probe responses for cycling apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Future plc.
Sources to know first
Cited in 24 of 32 probe responses for trail running apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Hearst.
Cited in 7 of 32 probe responses for trail running apparel.
Sources to know first
Cited in 11 of 32 probe responses for triathlon kit, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Future plc.
Cited in 8 of 32 probe responses for triathlon kit. Owned by Outside Inc.
Sources to know first
Cited in 15 of 32 probe responses for hiking and outdoor apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Future plc.
Cited in 6 of 32 probe responses for hiking and outdoor apparel, and in 2 other measured categories of 6 in the cluster.
Sources to know first
Cited in 1 of 29 probe responses for training and gym apparel, and in 1 other measured category of 6 in the cluster. Owned by Condé Nast.
Cited in 2 of 29 probe responses for training and gym apparel. Owned by Hearst.
What this map can't tell you
Everything above is category-level. Where your store sits inside it — how much of each moment's coverage you own, which of these sources have covered you, and which are worth your next email — is a brand-specific measurement. That's the paid audit, and it exists precisely because this page cannot honestly answer those questions.
See where your store sits