Technical Definition
AI citations are references LLMs provide to source websites when generating responses. Citation behavior varies by platform: Perplexity cites heavily, ChatGPT with search cites selectively, Claude cites when using web search. Earning citations is the primary goal of GEO. Factors include content authority, factual accuracy, and being included in training data or search results.
Simple Explanation (ELI13)
AI citations are when an AI chatbot mentions or links to a website as its source. When Perplexity answers your question and shows little numbers linking to websites, those are citations. Getting your site cited by AI is like getting a backlink, but from an AI instead of another website.
Related Terms
GEO, LLM, Perplexity, Source Attribution
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