0:00Introduction
Lesson 2.3: reading AI answers.
0:04Mention, citation, recommendation
In an AI answer you can show up in three ways, and they're not worth the same. A mention: your name in the text. It builds memory, but it brings few visits. A citation: one of your pages used as a source, with a link. That can bring visits. And a recommendation: you're named as the one to choose. That's where a person makes the decision.
0:28The sources
Then look at the sources: who gets used to write the answer. Your site, or a competitor's. But often neither one: directories, review sites, wikis, news sites, social media, marketplaces. The type of source that wins tells you where to work. If a directory wins, you need a better page of your own, and a presence on that directory.
0:49A real example
Let's look at a real site: video-burst.com, a video production company in Michigan, shown with the owner's permission. This is its baseline, before any work was done. On the same 49 customer questions, Perplexity cites it on 21. ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI on 12. Claude on 9. Some questions get it cited by all five engines, others by just one. That's why you measure engine by engine, and never with a single number.
1:21When you're not cited
When you're not cited, the reason is usually one of three. None of your pages answers that question. The page exists, but the engines can't read it: the bots are blocked, the page isn't indexed, or the content only shows up with JavaScript. Or others are more credible: a directory or a portal answers better than you do.
1:42What they say about you
One last thing: read what they say about you. Getting cited with the wrong information is a problem, not a win. Check your hours, prices, services and address. And if there's a mistake, find out where it comes from. Often it's an old listing on another site: fix it there.
2:00Your task for today
Your task for today: pick five questions where you're not cited. For each one, write down the type of source that wins, and the most likely reason, out of the three. And note the mistakes AI engines make about you, with the source they come from.
2:27Next lesson
In the next lesson: competitors, and your citation share. See you there.