How Does the AI Earn Great Prophets So Quickly?

[isau]

This is a question about Emperor difficulty, which is where I have mainly been playing.

I can't figure out how the AIs consistently seem to be ahead in Great Prophet points. The only time I've been able to earn a religion consistently is with Arabia, who gets it free once the others are founded. I did get one once as Aztecs by stealing cities from someone who already had the districts placed. I don't think they are cheating or anything, I'm just curious because the opportunity cost of trying for but failing to found a religion is so high. Is it just that their production bonuses make them much better at placing districts quickly? District costs seem a bit too high and I don't ever seem to be able to place one before turn 40 or so (and that's still really early).

Connected to this, is the fact that AI is going for Holy Sites hampering them by making them unable to build other districts? It feels like maybe they are just grabbing the Holy Site because it is one of the first to come available. The other site I see most consistently is the Campus.

Also I have yet to see an Encampment district at all. Maybe just weird luck but even with very aggressive civs I don't see them.

 

[MasterDinadan]

Not sure what the AI specifically does, but I will say that you can get a great prophet extremely quickly if you just do the holy site "project" a few times which gives a very good number of GP points. I think making a holy site and spamming this project until you have a prophet may be more efficient than building Stonehenge.