Definition
An AI citation is a source link or attribution inside an AI-generated answer — the pages Perplexity lists as sources, the links ChatGPT search shows, or the sites named in Google AI Overviews. Citations are the currency of AI visibility: engines cite pages that are retrievable, parseable and contain specific, quotable evidence (numbers, definitions, comparisons). Citation behavior differs by engine: Perplexity cites nearly every claim inline, Google AI Overviews link a rotating subset of supporting pages, and ChatGPT search shows sources for browsed answers. The common thread is that engines prefer pages where a specific claim can be lifted with its evidence attached — which is why evidence-dense sections, named statistics and clearly attributed quotes consistently out-earn general marketing copy. Tracking which of your pages earn citations — and which competitors get cited instead — is the core feedback loop of GEO work.