Definition
Citation rate is the percentage of AI-generated answers in which a specific page or domain is linked as a source. It is one of the three core AI visibility metrics, alongside mention rate (brand named but not linked) and sentiment (how favorably the brand is described). Citation rate matters more than mention rate for driving traffic because a citation is a clickable link — Perplexity places citations inline, ChatGPT search shows source cards, and Google AI Overviews link supporting pages. Measuring citation rate requires a fixed prompt set, a consistent sampling cadence, and multi-run averaging because AI answers are stochastic: a single check can show zero citations while the true rate is 40%. Teams typically report citation rate as citations earned divided by total sampled answers for a prompt set, broken down by engine. Movement in citation rate — after deploying structured data, rewriting content, or publishing new evidence — is the primary feedback signal for GEO programs.