AI Citation
The numbered marker or source card attached to a claim in a generated answer, linking back to the page the claim was drawn from.
Analogy Mental model
The reference superscript in an academic paper. If conventional search competes for shelf position, this competes for the footnote.
In practice What you actually do
To earn one, the page must contain a fact that cannot be supported without citing you: a figure you measured, a framework you named, a comparison table nobody else compiled. A model can produce common knowledge from its own parameters and will not attribute it.
Where people get burned Pitfalls
Being cited and being recommended are different outcomes. A model can take your data, cite your URL, and use it to praise a competitor. Track brand mentions separately from citation counts, or the reporting will flatter you while your pipeline stays flat.
This entry was written in English from the Chinese original, not machine-translated. Read the Chinese version →