AI Search

What Is an AI Citation?

An AI citation is a reference an AI assistant or search feature gives to a web page it drew on when generating an answer — usually a linked source name shown beside or beneath the generated text.

Why it matters

Citations are the only visible route from a generated answer back to your site, which makes them the closest thing assistant-led search has to a ranking position. They also carry brand value unclicked: your name appears as the source the answer rests on.

Example

An assistant answering "what is a link insertion" names three sources under its paragraph. Being one of those three is an AI citation; being paraphrased with no link is not.

Common misconception

That citations can be bought or reliably engineered. Assistants select sources per query using methods they do not publish, and the same prompt can return different sources on different days, so nobody can promise you a citation. What you can do is make a page accurate, current and easy to quote.

Related terms

AI Overview Google's AI-generated summary above some search results. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Making content easy for AI answer engines to use and cite. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Structuring content so a direct answer is easy to extract. Brand Mention Your brand named on another site, with or without a link. Entity SEO Optimising around things and their relationships, not strings.

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