Citation rate
The percentage of AI answers that actually mention your brand across a tracked set of prompts.
Definition
Citation rate refers to the share of answers generated by AI engines, across a tracked set of prompts, in which a given brand is explicitly mentioned, cited or clearly identifiable.
Key takeaways
- It is one of the core GEO KPIs, best read prompt by prompt and engine by engine.
- A low citation rate on category prompts is often more concerning than a low citation rate on brand prompts.
- Citation rate must be compared with that of key competitors to be interpreted correctly.
- It should be read over time: a gradual decline can signal a loss of visibility before it becomes visible elsewhere.
Explanation
Citation rate is calculated by regularly querying a set of prompts representative of a brand’s market, then observing on how many answers the brand actually appears, cited by name or clearly recognizable.
This figure alone is not enough: it must be put in perspective with the framing of the citation (positive, neutral, negative), the relative position against competitors cited on the same prompts, and its evolution over time.
A citation rate that is stable over time but lagging behind direct competitors often points to a presence problem on proof content or third-party sources, rather than a technical issue.
Go further
AIglebotBetaAIglebot helps companies track their visibility, reputation and recommendation in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.