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Citations measure how often your pages are cited as sources by AI models. When AI references your content, it signals trust and authority — and drives awareness of your brand.

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How Citations work

When users ask AI platforms questions, the AI often cites sources to back up its recommendations. These citations are links to pages that AI considers authoritative and relevant. 
User: "What's the best CRM for small agencies?"

AI Response: "For small agencies, I'd recommend considering these options...
[Your comparison page is cited as a source]"
Attensira tracks which of your pages get cited, how often, and in what context.

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What drives citations

AI cites pages that comprehensively answer questions. Thin content rarely gets cited. Detailed, well-structured pages earn more citations.
Citations happen when your page directly addresses what the user asked. The more closely your content matches user intent, the more citations.
Pages from established domains with quality backlinks and positive references elsewhere are more likely to be cited.
Recently updated content may be preferred over stale pages, especially for topics that change over time.

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Citations vs. Brand Mentions

Important distinction:
TypeDefinitionExample
CitationAI links to your page as a source”[Source: yoursite.com/features]“
Brand mentionAI talks about your brand”Acme CRM is a good option…”
You can have citations without mentions (AI cites your page but doesn’t recommend your brand) or mentions without citations (AI recommends you without linking to your site).
Pages getting cited but not leading to brand mentions represent missed opportunities. Use the Sources view to identify and fix these.

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Improving your Citations

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Quick wins

  1. Audit your most-cited pages — Understand what’s working
  2. Improve uncited pages — Add depth and relevance
  3. Create citation-worthy content — Guides, comparisons, data

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Strategic improvements

1

Identify citation gaps

Use Page Details to find pages that should be cited but aren’t.
2

Analyze competing sources

See what sources AI cites instead of you. What do they have that you don’t?
3

Improve content depth

Add comprehensive details, examples, and data to thin pages.
4

Optimize structure

Use clear headings, lists, and tables that AI can parse and reference.
5

Monitor results

Track citation changes over 2-4 weeks after improvements.

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Citations by platform

Different AI platforms cite your content differently based on their architecture and data sources:
PlatformCitation behaviorNotes
ChatGPTCites in browsing mode, inline referencesCitations appear when web browsing is enabled
ClaudeReferences sources when using web searchMay cite from training data without explicit links
PerplexityHeavily citation-focused, sources shown prominentlyMost citation-forward platform, prioritize optimizing here
GeminiCites from Google’s index, links to sourcesBenefits from strong SEO and structured data
GrokReferences X/Twitter posts and real-time sourcesCitations reflect trending and recent content
Perplexity is the most citation-forward platform. If improving citations is a priority, optimize for Perplexity first — it shows sources prominently and users often click through to cited pages.

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Next steps

Share of Voice

Understand your market share

Prompt Results

Analyze prompt-level performance