Glossary
Citation
In AI search, a citation is a link an answer engine shows to the source page it used when generating part of its answer.
Perplexity cites on nearly every answer; ChatGPT and Gemini cite when retrieval was involved. Citations are the most direct evidence available that a specific page was read and used.
Citations and mentions are distinct. A business can be named without any of its pages being cited — the model drew on trained knowledge or third-party sources — and a page can be cited without the business being recommended.
Why it matters
Citations are measurable in a way brand mentions are not, and they identify exactly which page earned the reference. They also tend to move before mention rate does, making them a useful leading indicator.