In plain English
A citation is the AI saying “here’s where I got that”, the same as footnotes in an essay where you have to list your sources. When it answers a question and drops in a link, that’s the receipt. It tells you which page the information came from, so you can go and check it, read more, or decide whether you trust it.
Flip it round and it matters for your business too: when an AI answers someone’s question with a snippet from your website and links to you, you have been cited. That is the AI-era version of appearing on page one.
A worked example
You ask an assistant “where’s a good dog-friendly pub in Hammersmith?” and it names one, says dogs are welcome in the garden, and includes a link to the page it read that on. That link is the citation. You click through, check the menu, maybe ring ahead to confirm the dog policy before you drag the dog across town for nothing.
The AI didn’t make it up. It read it somewhere and showed you where. And if that page was yours, the assistant just sent you a customer.
The usual mix-up
People assume a citation means the information is guaranteed correct and current. It isn’t. The page it cited could be years old or slightly misread, so if it actually matters, go and check yourself.
Where you’ll use it
- How to get AI tocite meGrow my business
- How to get AI torecommend my businessGrow my business
- How to get AI tofact-check somethingResearch & discover · free tools
- How to get AI tostop making things upResearch & discover · free tools
Also comes up in: be honest with me, help with homework, read a PDF, read my website, help me research a topic, summarise a document, teach me about SEO, help me write an essay.