Citation Tracking
Track which sources AI models cite in their responses, analyze category breakdowns, identify gaps, and measure domain authority.
Overview
Citation Tracking monitors the external sources that AI models reference when answering questions about your brand and industry. Every time an AI model cites a URL in a response captured by your snapshots, AEO Optima records and aggregates that citation data into a searchable, filterable intelligence layer.
This gives you direct visibility into which websites, articles, and resources AI models trust — and whether your own content is among them.
How It Works
Citation data flows through three stages:
- Extraction — When snapshots are captured, the system parses each AI response for cited URLs, reference links, and source attributions.
- Classification — Each citation URL is classified by source category (editorial, institutional, reference, corporate, UGC, competitor) and content format using the built-in source classifier.
- Aggregation — Citations are deduplicated and aggregated into the
citation_sourcestable, tracking citation counts, first/last seen dates, and domain-level statistics.
Aggregation runs both incrementally (after each snapshot) and on-demand via the Citations dashboard.
Key Metrics
Citation Summary
The summary view provides at-a-glance metrics:
- Total Sources — Unique URLs cited across all snapshots.
- Total Citations — Cumulative citation count (one URL cited in 10 snapshots = 10 citations).
- By Category — Breakdown of citations by source type (editorial, institutional, reference, corporate, UGC, competitor).
- By Type — Split between "used" sources (directly quoted or paraphrased) and "cited" sources (listed as references).
Top Domains
Domains ranked by total citation frequency. This reveals which websites AI models rely on most when discussing your industry. Each domain entry shows:
- Domain name and primary source category
- Total citation count across all URLs on that domain
- Number of unique URLs cited from the domain
Trending Sources
Sources with increasing citation frequency over time, calculated using a trend score that factors in:
- Citations per day — How often the source is being cited relative to its lifetime.
- Recency boost — Sources cited recently score higher than stale ones.
Trending sources help you identify emerging authorities in your space before they become dominant.
Citation Gap Analysis
Gap analysis identifies sources where your competitors appear but your brand does not. These represent outreach opportunities — if a source already covers the space, it may be receptive to covering your brand too.
Gap Types
| Gap Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Missing | Source cites competitors in AI responses but your brand is absent entirely. |
| Competitor Only | The citation source is a competitor's own domain or content. |
| Weak Mention | Your brand appears but significantly less frequently than competitors. |
Gap Workflow
Each identified gap can be tracked through a status lifecycle:
- Open — Newly detected, not yet addressed.
- In Progress — Outreach or content creation underway.
- Resolved — Your brand now appears in the citation source.
- Ignored — Gap dismissed as not relevant.
Domain Authority Scoring
AEO Optima computes a proprietary AI Citation Authority score (0--100) for each domain. This is distinct from traditional SEO domain authority — it measures how much AI models trust and reference a domain.
The score is a weighted composite of five factors:
| Factor | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Citation Frequency | 30% | Raw citation count, normalized against the most-cited domain. |
| Consistency | 25% | What fraction of snapshots reference this domain. |
| Cross-Model Appearance | 20% | Whether multiple AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) cite it. |
| Recency | 15% | How recently the domain was cited. |
| Category Trust | 10% | Editorial and institutional sources score higher than UGC. |
Authority Score Ranges
| Score | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 80--100 | High Authority | AI models consistently rely on this domain across multiple models. |
| 50--79 | Moderate Authority | Regularly cited but not a primary source. |
| 20--49 | Low Authority | Occasionally referenced, limited cross-model presence. |
| 0--19 | Minimal | Rarely cited by AI models. |
How to Use
- Navigate to Citations in the sidebar.
- Review the summary cards for total sources, citation counts, and category distribution.
- Explore the Top Domains list to understand which external sources AI models prefer.
- Check Trending Sources to spot emerging authorities in your industry.
- Run Gap Analysis to find outreach opportunities where competitors are cited but you are not.
- Track gap resolution by updating statuses as you create content or conduct outreach.
Plan Requirements
Citation Tracking is available on Starter plans and above. Gap Analysis and Domain Authority scoring require the Pro-SME plan or higher (legacy: Professional).