GEO glossary
The explicit reference to a source, with a link or attribution, in a generative answer.
A citation is the explicit reference to a source in a generative answer: a link, the name of an outlet, an attribution. Perplexity almost always cites; ChatGPT does when browsing; AI Overviews show sources on the side; Claude and ChatGPT's non-browsing mode rarely.
For GEO, citations are the most useful trace: they reveal which pages are shaping the answer. Studies of citations show that a few sources (Wikipedia, Reddit, LinkedIn, category directories, news outlets) collect a disproportionate share, and that cited passages share common traits: facts with numbers and dates, quotations, self-contained definitions, a high position on the page.
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