AI citation

When an assistant writes an answer with search on, it typically attaches sources: numbered references, inline links or a list at the end. Those are citations. They identify sources associated with the answer, but do not prove that every nearby claim is supported. A mention is weaker and different: the assistant names your brand from memory or from another page, without pointing at yours. You can improve the evidence on pages you control, while the assistant still chooses which sources to use. Citations reward pages that state a fact plainly enough to be quoted, that carry their own evidence, and that are recent enough to be trusted. They also reward being the page other pages link to, since the engine's search step still weighs links. For a store the practical goal is simple: for each buyer question you care about, publish the page you would want the assistant to read, then check whether it is the page being cited. Citelift's check reports the brands each answer named; the cited pages tell you what kind of content is winning the question. Use the manual citation checker to inspect pasted answers and their source links without an API call.