Should You Pay for 'Best X' List Placements?

A paid listicle placement is a spot you pay for on someone else's "best X" list (a listicle is just an article written as a numbered list, like "10 best CRMs for startups"). You can pay, and sometimes it's fine. But a list only helps you in AI answers if AI tools actually cite it, so in our view one earned spot on the right list beats paying for 10 weak ones.

This was the question we heard most on sales and client calls between 25 October and 3 November. The question was usually whether to pay to get into "best X" lists, and whether that's how you show up in ChatGPT.

Do AI tools use "best X" lists to pick software?

The research says they lean on them a lot. When someone asks ChatGPT for the best tool in a category, the sources it cites (the links it shows next to the answer) are often comparison articles that rank tools against each other.

Ahrefs looked at ChatGPT answers to 750 "best" prompts that buyers ask early in their research, across software, products and agencies. It found that "best X" blog lists were 43.8% of all page types cited.

A separate study by Peec AI for Wix, published in March 2026, covered 75,000 AI answers across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Perplexity. Listicles were 21.9% of all website citations, rising to 40.86% for commercial prompts (people weighing up what to buy).

Position on the list seems to matter as well. Ahrefs checked 750 cited lists by hand and found a strong trend: brands that ranked higher on a list were more likely to show up in the answer that cited it. Ahrefs is careful not to call it proof, and notes that "Some other factors might be in play here". Still, if a list is going to be cited, you'd rather sit near the top of it.

If you want the longer version of how this works, we've covered it in how AI builds recommendations.

Paid vs earned placements: what's the difference?

An earned placement is one the editor chose to give you because your product fits the list. A paid placement is one you bought, either to get on the list or to move up it.

There's also a third kind of list, the one you write yourself and rank yourself first on. In 250 "best X software" Google results, Ahrefs found 169 (67.6%) featured a list where the company writing it ranked itself number one. Its author concluded that SaaS companies should publish them.

A newer, smaller test points the other way. Onely checked 13 lists of the best ChatGPT SEO agencies in October 2026. Of those, 10 were published by agencies selling the service, nine of them ranked themselves first, and ChatGPT named none of those nine across two runs. That's a small test, run by an agency with an interest in the result, so we'd treat it as an early warning sign.

The Wix data points the same way. In professional services, the industry with the highest listicle citation rate, 80.9% of listicle citations among the top 1,000 cited URLs went to third-party lists and 19.1% to self-promotional ones. Our take is that your own list is fine to have, but the spots that move AI answers are more likely to be on other people's sites.

Which lists are worth being on?

The lists worth your time are the ones AI tools already cite for your category, and that a buyer would trust if they opened them.

Ahrefs found that 35% of cited "best" lists sat on low-authority domains (sites with few good links pointing at them). Its author says many look "almost entirely like they were built for link building and / or citation purposes", and expects their share to decline as AI platforms build stronger trust scoring. We'd plan for that too.

Before you pitch or pay, check each list against five things:

• It shows a real method. The page says how tools were tested or scored, beyond calling them "hand-picked".
• It covers plenty of options. We look for 10 or more. A list of three where the publisher is number one reads as an ad.
• It's kept up to date. Ahrefs found 79.1% of the 1,100 cited lists it dated had been updated in 2025, and 26% in the two months before the check.
• It ranks for the search. If the list is on page one of Google or Bing for "best [your category]", we'd expect buyers to read it even when AI doesn't.
• It shows up in AI answers for your prompts. We weight this one highest, and the last section shows how to check it.

We'd treat review platforms like G2 and Capterra the same way. We've covered how to handle those in how review sites shape AI recommendations.

What can go wrong with paid spots

Google's link spam policy is the main risk. Google defines link spam as links created "primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings", and that includes paid articles dressed up as editorial.

Google's spam policies list "Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links" as an example of link spam. They also list excessive link exchanges, which matters if a publisher offers you a swap instead of an invoice. Paid links themselves aren't banned, though.

Google asks publishers to label paid links. The publisher adds a small tag to the link's code, rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", which tells Google the link was paid for. Google's guide to qualifying outbound links asks sites to mark "advertisements or paid placements" this way. So if you pay, ask the publisher in writing how the link will be marked.

Also check how long a paid entry lasts. If it ends at the publisher's next refresh, you may have to pay again just to stay on the list.

How to see which lists AI uses for your category

Run your buyers' prompts in two or three AI tools, twice each, and write down every "best X" list they cite. The lists that keep coming back are the ones worth earning a spot on.

Run each prompt twice, because in Onely's test, ChatGPT named eight agencies in one answer and 11 in the other, with only two in both.

1. Write five prompts your buyers would type. For example "best [category] for [team size or industry]" and "[competitor] alternatives".
2. Run each one twice in ChatGPT with web search turned on, in Perplexity and in Google's AI Mode.
3. Copy every cited link into a sheet with one row per citation: prompt, tool, URL, whether you're on the list, and your position.
4. Count repeats. We treat lists cited in three or more answers as the shortlist.
5. Check each shortlisted list against the five points above, and note when it was last updated.

Then decide list by list. If you're missing from a list that keeps coming up, pitch the editor with a clear reason to include you, such as a case study or a new feature. Our guide to getting featured in best software lists covers the pitch in detail.

If you're on it but low or out of date, send an update. Pay only if the list passes every check, you can't get in any other way, and the link will be labelled.

Treat this as ongoing work rather than a one-off project. In our experience AI tools lean towards fresh content, and the lists they cite are mostly recent: Ahrefs found 26% of the cited lists it dated had been published or updated in the two months before its check. Lists get refreshed and replaced, so a spot you hold this quarter can drop out of the answers next quarter.

The same goes for guest posts and contributed articles on sites in your category. We explain it to clients like paid search: when you stop paying for ads, the clicks stop. When you stop earning list spots and publishing on other sites, your AI visibility starts to slip.

If the lists keep recommending the same rivals, our piece on why AI recommends your competitors covers what to fix on your side. For the wider outreach plan, see digital PR for AI search.

If you'd like us to run this for you, our free AI Search audit checks how often AI tools recommend you and which competitors they name instead.

FAQ

Should we pay to get into "best X" lists to show up in ChatGPT?

Only after you know which lists ChatGPT actually cites for your category. Run your buyers' prompts a few times, note the lists that keep appearing, and try to earn a spot on those first (the test is described above). Pay only for a strong list you can't get onto any other way, and make sure the link is labelled as sponsored.

Do paid listicle placements hurt SEO?

They can. Google's spam policies treat paid links that count towards rankings as link spam. A paid placement is within the rules if the link carries rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Ask the publisher in writing how your link will be marked before you pay.

Does ChatGPT trust lists where a company ranks itself first?

The evidence is mixed. In December 2025 Ahrefs found that 169 of 250 "best X software" Google results featured a self-ranked list, and its author recommended publishing them. A small Onely test in October 2026 found ChatGPT named none of nine self-ranked agencies, and Wix data shows third-party lists win most listicle citations in professional services. Having your own list is fine, but don't rely on it.

How do we get on best software lists without paying?

Find the lists AI tools already cite, then give each editor a clear reason to add you, such as a case study with numbers or a feature their list doesn't cover yet. Once you're on, keep your entry current. Ahrefs found 79.1% of the cited lists it dated had been updated in 2025, so recent lists are the norm.

How many lists do we need to be on?

Start with the lists that come up three or more times in your prompt test, since those are the ones AI tools are reading for your category. Getting onto those, and sitting high on them, is a better use of time than chasing lists that never show up in AI answers.

How often should we re-check which lists AI uses?

We'd re-check every month or two. Answers can change between runs, as Onely's test showed, and lists get updated, so the shortlist moves. Re-run the same prompts, compare the cited lists with last time, and update your outreach plan from there.