A citation is the AI engine telling the user where it got the information. Inline citations on Perplexity and Bing Copilot, footnoted citations on ChatGPT browsing mode, and hover-cards on Google AI Overviews are all examples. Citation tracking measures both the count and the quality of these links, whether the source pulled from is your own domain, a press piece, a Reddit thread, or a competitor.
AI visibility glossary
Citation
A citation is an explicit, linked reference inside an AI-generated answer pointing to a specific source URL, distinct from an unlinked brand mention.