AI citation footprint
The complete, query-level map of everything the AI models already cite your domain on.
Your AI citation footprint is the complete set of queries that AI assistants — ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok — already cite or mention your domain on. It is the answer-layer equivalent of an organic keyword profile in traditional SEO: not a single score, but the full list of buyer questions where the models name you, plus the intent behind each, which models cite you, and the competitors named alongside. You map it with reverse AI search — starting from your domain and reading the AI query index backwards. The footprint is the baseline you grow from: every query you are not yet cited on is a gap you can target, and every query you already win is an asset to defend.
What does an AI citation footprint include?
Think of it as four layers stacked on every query where you appear:
- The query — the literal buyer question the model was asked.
- Intent — informational, commercial or transactional, so you can prioritise.
- Model coverage — which of ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok named you, since they often disagree.
- Competitors — the other domains cited in the same answer.
How is a footprint different from a visibility score?
A visibility score collapses all of that into one number — easy to report, impossible to act on. A footprint keeps the detail, so it doubles as a worklist. That is why we treat it as the foundational artefact of AI visibility rather than a vanity metric. The longer, worked example lives in the Reverse AI Search pillar: AI citation footprint: what it is and how to map yours.
How do you map your AI citation footprint?
The quickest path is the free Domain Check: enter your domain and it reads the index backwards for you, returning the live query list across all three models — no score, no signup. For the underlying mechanic, see the Reverse AI Search pillar.
Worked example
Say a recipe site is cited by an AI assistant for “easy weeknight pasta,” “substitute for buttermilk,” and “how long to rest steak.” Each of those is one citation; together they form the site’s footprint for cooking queries. A single visibility score would flatten all three into one number, but the footprint keeps them separate — so the team can see it already wins “buttermilk substitute,” is cited by only one of three models on “resting steak,” and is absent entirely on the adjacent query “how to reheat pasta,” where a competitor holds the slot. That last line is a concrete gap to target; tracking the set over time shows whether the footprint is growing.
Related terms
- AI citation — the individual unit a footprint is built from.
- AI share of voice — your footprint expressed as a share against competitors.
- Reverse AI search — the method used to read your footprint out of the index.
Frequently asked questions
How is a citation footprint different from a single AI citation?
A single AI citation is one reference in one answer. A footprint is the complete set of those references across many queries and models over time — the aggregate picture of everywhere your domain shows up.
How do you measure an AI citation footprint?
By repeatedly scanning many queries across AI models and recording which domains get cited, then reading that index backwards from your domain. The free Domain Check does this instantly for any site.