Glossary
What is a citation in AI search?
A citation is the link an AI answer gives as its source. It tells you where the answer says its information came from, and it is worth opening.
What a citation is
When an AI assistant searches the web before replying, it can attach links to the pages it drew on. Each of those source links is a citation. They may sit beside a sentence, at the end of the answer or in a list of sources.
Several providers describe this in their own help pages. Perplexity's help centre says each answer includes numbered links to the original sources, so readers can check the information or explore further.
Anthropic's help centre says that when web search is turned on, responses include citations so you can check the sources yourself.
How a citation differs from a mention
A mention is an answer that names your business in its text. A citation is a link to a source. An answer can name you and link elsewhere, or link to your website and name someone else.
Keep the two findings apart when you record them. A citation to your own website tells you a page of yours was given as a source. It does not tell you that the answer used your name or described you correctly.
What a citation does and does not prove
A citation shows which page the answer pointed to. It does not show that the page supports the sentence beside it. An answer can link to a page and still state something the page never says.
That is why each link deserves a check. Open the page, find the passage that matches the statement and confirm it says the same thing. If it does not, record the mismatch with the answer.
How Carqo relates to citations
In Carqo, source analytics lists the websites and pages linked in AI answers to your tracked prompts. Tracked prompts are the questions you choose to have checked repeatedly. Each website shows how many of the answers read linked to it, written as a count out of the total.
Every count opens onto the recorded answers. You can read the exact prompt, the answer text and the sources it gave, then open the linked page and check it yourself.
In practice
- Find the matching passage Locate the text on the page that relates to the statement beside the link.
- Compare the two Decide whether the page supports the statement as written, supports part of it or says something else.
- Record what you found Save the answer, the link, the passage and your finding together, with the date you checked.
Common questions
Does a citation to my website mean the answer named me?
Not necessarily. An answer can link to your page as a source and name a different business in its text. Record the citation and the mention separately, then read the answer to see how they relate.
Can a citation point to a page that does not support the answer?
Yes. The assistant writes the text and attaches sources in the same reply, and the link alone does not confirm the statement. That is why each citation is worth checking against the sentence beside it.
Will adding more pages get my website cited?
No one can promise that. AI companies decide which sources their answers link to. Accurate, clear pages are worth having for your customers, and you can keep checking which pages answers link to.
Does a citation to my website mean the answer named me?
Not necessarily. An answer can link to your page as a source and name a different business in its text. Record the citation and the mention separately, then read the answer to see how they relate.
Can a citation point to a page that does not support the answer?
Yes. The assistant writes the text and attaches sources in the same reply, and the link alone does not confirm the statement. That is why each citation is worth checking against the sentence beside it.
Will adding more pages get my website cited?
No one can promise that. AI companies decide which sources their answers link to. Accurate, clear pages are worth having for your customers, and you can keep checking which pages answers link to.
Sources
- Perplexity Help Center, How does Perplexity work? Link checked 29 October 2026
- Claude Help Center, Enable and use web search Link checked 29 October 2026