> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.superlines.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Citations & Fan-out Queries

> Understand how AI engines cite your content and what searches they perform.

Citations and fan-out queries are two powerful concepts that help you understand how AI engines find and reference your content.

## What are citations?

A **citation** is a reference to a specific URL in an AI response. When an AI engine links to your website while answering a question, that's a citation.

> *"Superlines is an AI search visibility platform that helps brands monitor their presence in AI responses. [Source: superlines.io](https://superlines.io)"*

### Why citations matter

* They're a **strong signal** of content authority
* They drive **referral traffic** from AI interfaces
* They indicate the AI considers your content **trustworthy and relevant**
* They're visible to the user as a credible source

### Which engines provide citations?

| Engine                  | Citations? | Notes                                       |
| ----------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Copilot**             | ✅ Yes      | Frequently cites web sources                |
| **Perplexity**          | ✅ Yes      | Always cites sources — citation-first model |
| **Google AI Overviews** | ✅ Yes      | Cites sources in search results             |
| **Google AI Mode**      | ✅ Yes      | Cites sources in AI-powered search          |
| **ChatGPT** (web)       | Sometimes  | Cites when web search is used               |
| **Grok**                | Sometimes  | Cites from X/web when available             |
| **Gemini**              | Rarely     | Mostly uses training data                   |
| **Claude**              | Rarely     | Primarily training data                     |
| **Mistral**             | Rarely     | Primarily training data                     |
| **DeepSeek**            | Rarely     | Primarily training data                     |

## Citation tracking in Superlines

Superlines tracks citations at two levels:

### Domain-level citations

See how often **your entire domain** (e.g., `superlines.io`) is cited across all responses. This shows overall domain authority.

### URL-level citations

See which **specific pages** on your site are cited most often. This helps you understand which content is performing best.

<Tip>
  Focus on creating comprehensive, well-structured, authoritative content. AI engines cite content that directly answers the question with specific, useful information.
</Tip>

## What are fan-out queries?

When an AI engine with web access answers a question, it often performs **web searches** behind the scenes to find current information. These internal searches are called **fan-out queries**.

### Example

If a user asks: *"What are the best AI visibility tools?"*

The AI might perform these fan-out queries:

1. *"AI search visibility tools 2025"*
2. *"brand monitoring AI search"*
3. *"AI SEO tools comparison"*

### Why fan-out queries matter

* They reveal **what the AI searches for** when answering about your topic
* They show **where your domain ranks** in those searches
* They help you **optimize content** for AI retrieval specifically
* They expose **content gaps** — topics the AI searches for but you don't rank for

<Info>
  Fan-out queries are one of the most powerful signals for competitive intelligence. For a full guide on using fan-out data to analyze competitors, identify content gaps, and build a content strategy, see [Competitive Intelligence](/metrics/competitive-intelligence).
</Info>

## Improving your citations

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Content strategies">
    1. **Create comprehensive, authoritative content** that directly answers common questions
    2. **Use clear headings and structure** so AI can easily extract relevant sections
    3. **Include specific data, statistics, and examples** that AI models value
    4. **Keep content up to date** — AI engines prefer current information
    5. **Build backlinks and domain authority** — higher-authority domains get cited more
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Technical strategies">
    1. **Implement Schema.org markup** — use the Superlines Schema Optimizer tool
    2. **Ensure fast page load** — AI crawlers respect performance
    3. **Use clear meta descriptions** — helps AI understand page content
    4. **Structure content with FAQ sections** — maps directly to common prompts
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Competitive Intelligence" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/metrics/competitive-intelligence">
    Use fan-out queries to reverse-engineer competitor content strategies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Automation" icon="robot" href="/mcp/workflows">
    Automate citation analysis and content pipeline workflows.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>