What is a Citation?

In LLM Pulse, a Citation is a domain or URL that an AI model returns as a source for an answer. It may appear as a clickable link, a visible domain, or a background source reference in the response metadata. Unlike Brand Mentions, Citations are based on sources rather than brand names in the answer text.

Each response counts at most once per brand or competitor, even if it contains several matching URLs. Visible and background citations count toward Citations and Citation Rate. Background citations have no visible rank, so Average Citation Position uses visible citations only.

The Citation Sources table groups sources By Domain, By Host, or By Page. By Domain combines the root domain and all its subdomains. If Match exact subdomain only is enabled, the page opens By Host and marks only the configured host as "You".

Use Citations to see which sites appear in AI answers, compare your site with competitors, and inspect the pages behind each source.