AI models cite AI-generated content as reputable sources

VERA Brief

AI-generated. Grounded in the article and its cited sources.

AI models are increasingly citing unfamiliar websites that appear to exist solely for AI citation. This trend is linked to reputable sites blocking AI crawlers and the prevalence of AI-generated content, potentially leading to confirmation bias.

Key facts

• AI models are citing unfamiliar sources that seem to be AI-generated content farms.
• Reputable websites are blocking AI crawlers.
• AI models may be drawing from AI-generated rewrites and marketing-focused brand research.
• AI models sometimes find supporting sources after generating an answer.
• This practice could lead to infrastructure-level confirmation bias.