How AI picks who to name

In one line

AI engines name sources they judge to be relevant, clear, trustworthy and easy to extract a confident answer from, a blend of authority, structure and specificity.

What they weigh

Relevance to the exact question, how directly and clearly the page answers it, the site's authority and reputation, the presence of concrete facts and data, and structured signals (schema, clean headings) that let the model quote you without ambiguity.

How to influence it

Answer questions directly and early, back claims with specific facts, add schema, cover the topic in depth, and earn the links and mentions that build trust. In short: be the clearest, most authoritative answer, not the longest.

Frequently asked

Does ranking on Google help AI citation?

Yes, many AI engines pull from top-ranked, crawlable pages, so strong SEO is a big head start for GEO.

Can I pay to be cited by AI?

No, citation is earned through relevance, clarity and authority, not ads.

Put this into practice

Grade your site against our 250-point AEO/GEO checklist and see exactly what to fix, free, no signup.

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