AI citations
Also called AI sources, cited sources, LLM citations.
AI citations are the links an AI answer shows as its sources, like the numbered links in Perplexity, the source chips in ChatGPT search, or the supporting links in Google AI Overviews. They show which pages the answer was built from. Being cited sends you visitors, and being named on a cited page gets you into the answer.
Doug's Field Guide · Updated
Two ways to benefit from a citation
The first way is direct. Your own page is one of the sources. That usually happens when your page answers the question more clearly than anything else the search found, such as a pricing page that actually gives prices or a service area page that names the towns.
The second way is indirect, and for local businesses it is often bigger. The answer cites a page that names you: a local news roundup of the best dentists, a trade directory, a chamber of commerce listing, or a Reddit thread where someone recommended you. You don't own those pages, but they carry your name into the answer. Keep in mind that AI citations are different from local citations, the directory listings of your name, address and phone, though the two often overlap.
How to use citations as a to do list
Ask the questions your customers ask and copy down every cited link. Do it across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google, since each searches a different way. After a few weeks, the same domains keep coming back. Those are the sources the engines trust for your trade and town. Sort them by how often they appear and start at the top.
- A directory you're missing from: claim or create the listing, with details that match your site.
- A listing with an old phone or hours: correct it.
- A 'best of' article that leaves you out: email the writer with something specific and true.
- A forum thread: reply from your real account, saying who you are.
- A competitor's page that answers the question better: write a clearer page of your own.
Build your citation list
- Ask Perplexity and ChatGPT 'best [service] in [town]' and two more customer questions.
- Paste every cited link into a spreadsheet with the question it came from.
- Mark each one: you're on it, you're missing, or it lists you with wrong details.
- Fix the two easiest this week, usually a directory listing to claim or correct.
Common mistakes
- Only looking at whether you were named and never at which sources the answer used.
- Chasing citations on sites that have nothing to do with your town or trade.
- Offering payment for a spot in an editorial 'best of' list, which readers and editors treat as advertising.
How Doug does it
Every week Doug records which sources the answers cite when he asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google and Google Maps your customers' questions. Missing directories become drafted listings in your fix queue, and cited articles that leave you out get a drafted outreach pitch you can send.
Terms on this page
- Brand mention
- Your business named on another site, with or without a link. AI answers draw on these, so being named in local roundups, directories and forums helps you get named in answers.
- Grounding
- Tying an AI answer to real sources it retrieved, usually shown as citations. A grounded answer about your business is only as accurate as the pages it read.
- Perplexity
- An AI answer engine that searches the web for each question and shows numbered links to the sources it used, which makes it a handy tool for seeing who gets cited.
Keep exploring
- Local citationsMentions of your business on directories and other sites around the web.
- Reddit in AI answersWhy forum threads get quoted by AI and Google, and how to join in without getting banned.
- ChatGPT recommendationsHow ChatGPT picks which plumber, dentist or lawyer to name, and what you can fix.
- The fix queueEach week's findings become drafted fixes you can publish, apply, or dismiss.
Sources
Written by Doug's team from these sources and our own work with local businesses. Search engines change their rules, so check the source before a big decision.
