Citation Engine
Citation Engine checks the questions your customers ask across OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. It records every source in every answer so the next content decision starts with evidence.
Every citation appeared in a category the analysis had identified as worth pursuing.
How the dataset is collected
Most of the dataset comes from sites I own and run, plus one external pilot. Because I control those sites, I can publish a change, record the result, and compare each run under the same conditions.
- 12,847+
- query runs
- 82,285+
- citations analyzed
- 6,049+
- domains observed
- 11
- active properties tracked
Production dataset across OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity. Checked August 2026. Citation totals include every source returned, not only sites I own.
Drone Authority: six citations after a targeted update
Drone Authority went three consecutive weeks without a citation across 22 tracked questions. The analysis separated realistic opportunities from queries held by a federal agency and established category leaders.
The next round of work focused on those realistic lanes. In the following measurement cycle, the site recorded six citations. All six appeared in the categories identified as worth pursuing. None appeared in the categories I had recommended leaving alone.
Visit Drone AuthorityWhat Citation Engine adds to Google and Bing reports
Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are useful first-party reports. Citation Engine adds what a property owner cannot see there.
How to interpret a citation
AI answers change. Categories differ. My strongest property is currently cited on 43 of 47 tracked questions, while other active properties range from 6% to 27%. Results depend heavily on how contested the category is, so I do not present the strongest result as a typical one.
Direct AI referrals are also rare in the sample, at about 0.1%. The system is useful because it tells me where to focus and where to stop spending, not because every citation becomes a click.
Questions about the data
I run a controlled set of real customer questions across OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Citation Engine saves every source in each answer. It shows whether your business appears and which competitors appear instead.
Yes, and I use those tools too. Google and Bing report your performance on their own surfaces. Citation Engine compares your site with every source returned across four engines, including competitors ranked above you.
No. The system measures the field and helps direct the work. Clear facts, useful content, and credible sources can improve the foundation, but each engine still decides what appears in its answer.
Direct referrals are rare in the tracked sample, at about one click per thousand citation events. I treat citations as visibility data, not as a traffic promise. I also watch branded search and qualified inquiries.
AI visibility review
Track the questions your customers actually ask
I will show what appears now and who owns the answers. Then I will tell you whether separate AI-search work makes sense for your business.
Check my AI visibility