AI citation & brand mention checker
See whether AI models would cite your domain — and which off-site brand signals (YouTube, social profiles) you're missing. Based on what actually correlates with AI visibility, not schema box-ticking.
AI citations vs. brand mentions — what's the difference?
An AI citationis your URL linked as a source inside an AI answer — ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews naming your page as where the answer came from. Citations drive referral traffic: the reader can click through.
An AI brand mentionis your brand named in the answer with no link — "tools like IndexerNow" — which drives no click but builds recall, and matters more than it looks: models tend to cite brands they already reference. Mentions today correlate with citations tomorrow.
This checker measures both: whether an AI model would cite your domain for real queries, and the off-site signals (YouTube presence, social profiles) that correlate most with getting mentioned. To be citable at all, AI crawlers must be able to reach you — verify with the AI crawler access checker and read how AI search finds content.
Frequently asked questions
What actually makes an AI chatbot cite my site?
Ahrefs' analysis of over 1 billion data points found that YouTube mentions and brand mentions have the highest correlation (r=0.737) with AI brand visibility — higher than backlinks, Domain Rating, or traffic. Notably, adding schema markup had ~zero measurable impact on AI citations. So the levers are off-site brand presence and being an established, frequently-referenced name.
Does schema markup help me get cited by AI?
The data says not meaningfully. Schema markup showed zero significant impact on AI citations in the study. It still helps Google rich results, so it's worth having — just don't expect it to move your AI visibility.
Why does YouTube matter so much?
YouTube mentions had the single strongest correlation with AI brand visibility across the factors studied — including conventional SEO metrics. Building and linking a YouTube presence is one of the most direct levers you have. This tool checks whether your homepage even surfaces a YouTube channel.
Is the 'would AI cite you' check live?
It's a directional probe: we ask an AI model which sources it would cite for the queries you enter and check whether your domain appears. That reflects one model's training-grounded recall, not a live multi-engine search, so treat it as a signal rather than a guarantee. The off-site brand-signal scan runs with no AI configured.
How do I check if ChatGPT cites my website?
Two ways. Directly: ask ChatGPT (with search enabled) the questions your customers ask and see whether your domain shows up in the answer's sources. Systematically: run your domain through this checker — it probes an AI model with real queries and reports whether you'd be cited, so you can test many queries without doing it by hand. Either way, re-check over time: citations shift as models and indexes update.
What's the difference between an AI citation and a brand mention?
A citation is your URL linked as a source inside an AI answer — it drives referral clicks. A mention is your brand named in the answer without a link — no click, but it builds recall and is the stronger long-term signal: models cite brands they already 'know'. This tool measures both, because mentions today correlate with citations tomorrow.
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