Zombie Stats: Where the Numbers AI Quotes Come From | Trakkr Research

An investigation by Trakkr Research into 1,285 statistics cited by AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews found that only 40 percent of trails led to a matching study, with another 8 percent reaching a study with altered context or numbers. More than half of the AI's first citations landed on company blogs, news stories, or statistics roundups rather than original research. The author notes that assistants frequently agreed on figures that had no supporting research behind them, creating what they term "zombie stats." Open article →