What Are AI Citations?
AI citations occur when an AI search platform includes a link to a website as a source in its response. Unlike brand mentions (where the AI names a brand), citations provide a direct link that users can click. Citations are especially valuable because they drive actual referral traffic from AI platforms to your website.
The Citations Page
The dedicated Citations page at /citations shows all URLs from tracked domains that appear in AI responses. The page has four summary stat cards: Total Citations, Unique Domains, Competitor Citations (from your tracked competitors), and Last 7 Days growth.
Top Cited Domains
Below the stats, a horizontal chart shows the top 10 most-cited domains with favicon, domain name, citation count, and percentage of total. This gives you a quick view of which domains dominate AI citations in your space.
Domains vs All Citations Tabs
The main content area has two tabs:
- Domains tab - groups citations by domain, showing total citation count, number of unique URLs, which AI engines cited the domain, position range, and last seen date. Tracked competitors show a badge.
- All Citations tab - shows individual URLs with full detail including the URL, domain, AI engines, citation count, position range (color-coded: green for top 3, blue for 4-5), and timestamps.
Filtering and Sorting
Filter citations by:
- Time Period - 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or all time
- Tags - filter by prompt tag to see citations for specific topics
- Tracked Competitors Only - toggle to show only citations from your tracked competitors
- Domain filter - in the All Citations tab, filter by a specific domain
Click column headers to sort by name, engines, citation count, URLs, position, or last seen date.
Citation Sources Panel
Click the citation count button on any row to open a slide-in panel showing exactly which prompts cited that URL or domain. Each source entry shows the prompt text, AI engine, position in the response, and the date it was cited.
Manual Citation Refresh
You can manually refresh citations for individual AI mentions from the prompt detail page. Surva.ai calls the AI platform again and updates the citation data. A 2-day cooldown is enforced between manual refreshes for each mention to manage API costs.
Exporting Citations
Click the Export button to download citation data as CSV. The export format differs by tab:
- Domains tab CSV - domain, citation count, unique URLs, AI engines, best position, tracked competitor flag, competitor name, last seen
- All Citations tab CSV - URL, domain, citation count, AI engines, best position, worst position, tracked competitor flag, competitor name, first seen, last seen
Citation Scoring in Content Creation
When you create content using the Content Planner, Surva.ai scores each article for AI citability. The citation score (0-100) measures:
- Structure (40%) - clear headings, lists, and content organization
- Answer Density (35%) - how quotable and direct the content is, including FAQ sections, definitions, and TLDR summaries
- Entity Coverage (25%) - topical authority and key term coverage
Higher scores mean AI platforms are more likely to reference your content as a source.
How to Increase Citations
- Publish comprehensive, factual content that AI models can reference
- Include structured data and schema markup on your pages
- Build topical authority by covering subjects in depth
- Use the Content Planner to create citation-optimized articles with FAQs, definitions, and clear answer structures
- Add numbered lists and comparison tables - AI engines frequently cite structured content