PAN Communications Study of 31,500 AI Responses Finds Answers Change 50% to 60% of the Time

PAN Communications released the full C-Suite Signals: AI Citation Index on October 22, 2026, a study of 31,500 AI responses showing that answers to the same question changed substantially 50% to 60% of the time. The global brand-to-demand agency collected the responses from late August to late September across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, according to Business Wire.

Inside the C-Suite Signals Citation Index

The index tracked more than 155,000 citations across 16,503 different domains. Of the sources cited in week one, 42% were still cited in week four. Authoritative sources held their spots longer: the National Institutes of Health kept 76% of its citation spots, Deloitte kept 68% and SHRM kept 67%. Medium kept 27% and Reddit kept 21%.

Variance averaged 54% across nine personas, from 39% for CHROs to 70% for Chief Medical Officers. ChatGPT was the most consistent platform, with answers that varied far less than those of Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. LinkedIn was the top source and still made up only 5% of all citations. For Chief Medical Officers, NIH and PubMed made up 23% of citations, while CHROs leaned on SHRM, CIOs and CTOs on CIO.com, and CMOs and CROs on Gartner.

"Leaders want to know whether their brand shows up when an executive asks AI for advice, and our data shows that answer can change from one week to the next," said Mark Nardone, CMO of PAN. "The brands that hold their place are cited by sources AI already relies on, like analysts, trade outlets, and professional associations."

PAN's Earlier AI Research and Services

PAN Communications is an independent, Boston-headquartered integrated marketing and PR agency serving mid-market and enterprise B2B technology and healthcare brands, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show PAN released original research in February 2026 under the C-Suite Signals program finding that 31% of ChatGPT citations are incorrectly attributed or fabricated. In November 2025 it launched a B2B AI Optimization service line covering answer engine optimization, AI visibility audits and AI-informed content strategy, alongside the appointment of Zareen Fidlon as Head of AI Innovation. In December 2025 it launched a B2B Web Services offering under the PAN Pathway framework.

DynaMed and Nuvei Program Results

PAN described client work alongside the index. For payments technology company Nuvei, PAN paired a market launch in Mexico with original consumer research and thought leadership from seven executives; Nuvei's AI Visibility Score rose 4.8 points to 14.4%, and its earned coverage generated 59,598 AI citations, nearly three times the citations its own website produced. For DynaMed, an integrated paid, earned, shared and owned program secured placements in TIME and grew organic keyword rankings 1,500% quarter over quarter, including more than 450 page-one and AI Overview keyword placements, while organic search sessions rose 60%.

"Our AI Citation Index offers an unvarnished view into where AI looks for answers and how often that changes," said Zareen Fidlon, EVP, Integrated Marketing and Head of AI Innovation at PAN. "This surplus of data and AI fluency is already informing how we plan and measure brand-to-demand programs, and we'll have more on these intelligence efforts soon."