01  |  THE NETWORK EFFECT

More local partners, more local citations

The chart above shows AI favors local sources near the reader. Stacker's publisher partners are local newsrooms, so they benefit from that behavior directly. The more of a state's local news landscape the network covers, the larger its share of local AI citations.

Stacker Network Share of Local News Cited in Google AI Answers
States grouped by Stacker partner density (quartiles), Google AI surfaces only
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How the quartiles are defined

States are grouped by what share of their cited local news outlets are Stacker partners. Quartiles split by citation volume. Coverage is measured on outlets cited at least five times, reflecting the actively cited local news field.

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Why syndication changes the equation

A story placed on a single national site reaches one AI answer. The same story distributed across local newsrooms in 20 states can appear in 20 different AI answers, each tailored to a different reader's location.

Supplemental: Location-aware testing results ▾

To confirm the patterns above, controlled tests sent identical questions from different states. When set to the user's actual location, local news from the correct state appeared consistently.

From the test state
Expected by chance
02  |  WHAT THIS MEANS

Distribution is a local strategy

AI already knows where your buyers are. The question is whether your content shows up in the local sources it draws from.

Syndication creates local reach

AI cites local newsrooms when people ask local questions, and sometimes leans toward nearby publishers even on non-local queries. The more local outlets that carry your content, the more markets you can appear in. Local news sources remain among the most trusted information sources for American readers. Stacker places content across 3,000+ publishers nationwide, converting one story into local presence across every market the network covers.

Depth drives share

The network's share of local AI citations scales from 7% in states with the fewest partners to 38% in states with the most. Coverage density translates directly to citation share. And it's not just high-authority sites that matter: 1 in 5 LLM citations come from sites with a domain rating below 40, meaning even niche local publishers contribute to the network effect. For brands investing in AI visibility, wider distribution across trusted local sources is a measurable, compounding advantage.

Local shapes what AI says about your brand

AI answers shift based on where the user is, at times, even when the question has nothing to do with location. For content teams planning around AI search, the Stacker network turns that behavior into a distribution advantage that scales with every market you reach.

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