How do I know if AI assistants cite my company?
Ask the assistants your customers' real questions, in a private window without logging in, and write down which sources each answer cites. Repeat it every month with the same questions. Then confirm with evidence on your own site: visits referred by AI assistants, live page fetches by their crawlers, and Google's Search Console for AI Overviews.
Facts
- Google reports sites shown in AI Overviews and AI Mode inside the Search Console Performance report, under the Web search type, not as a separate report. (Google Search Central: AI features and your website)
- Google Analytics has an AI Assistant channel for arrivals from sources like ChatGPT, Gemini, Deepseek, Copilot or Grok; it excludes Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. (Google Analytics Help: Default channel group)
- OpenAI runs a separate agent, ChatGPT-User, for pages fetched because a user asked something, apart from its search crawler OAI-SearchBot. (OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers)
- In the KDD 2024 GEO study, a source's visibility in AI answers moved by up to 40% with changes to its text, so citations change over time and need checking again. (Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (KDD 2024))
Why ask in a private window?
A private window without login removes your history and memory from the answer, so you see something closer to what a new customer sees. Answers still vary between runs, so record the result each month instead of trusting one try.
What evidence shows a citation on your own site?
Three signals reach your site or your Google account; none shows every citation, so read them together:
| Signal | What it shows | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Referral visit from an assistant | Someone clicked your link in an answer | Citations nobody clicked |
| Live crawler fetch (ChatGPT-User, Claude-User, Perplexity-User) | An assistant opened your page to answer a person | Answers built from its index |
| Search Console, Web search type | Impressions and clicks including AI Overviews and AI Mode | Which clicks came from the AI part |
Which questions should you track?
Track the questions customers ask before buying, in their words: from sales, support, Search Console queries and "People also ask". Keep 10 to 20 and the same wording every month, so changes come from the answers, not from your questions.
How does easyIndex track citations?
easyIndex gives your coding agent the monthly scan plan over MCP: the tracked questions, asked in a private window without logging in, with every cited source recorded and never invented. Next to it, the dashboard shows AI referral visits per page and AI crawler reads, including live fetches.
Step by step
- Write your list of questions. 10 to 20 real customer questions, worded as customers say them.
- Ask each assistant. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity, in a private window, without logging in.
- Record what each answer cites. Which sites are linked or named, and whether yours is among them. Never fill in a guess.
- Check your site's evidence. Visits referred by AI assistants and live crawler fetches, per page.
- Check Search Console. Performance report, Web search type, for the queries on your list.
- Repeat every month. Same questions, same wording, and compare with the month before.
Common mistakes
- Checking once, logged in, and taking the answer as what everyone sees.
- Counting only clicks: many citations are read and never clicked.
- Changing the question wording each month, so results cannot be compared.
- Writing down a citation you remember instead of one you saw.
How easyIndex solves it
easyIndex runs the monthly citation scan with your coding agent and measures AI referral visits per page and AI crawler reads on one dashboard. US$ 30 per website a month, with a 7-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a tool that shows every citation?
No assistant publishes a full list of the sources it cites. Asking the questions and measuring visits and crawler reads is the evidence available.
Why does the same question give different answers?
Assistants generate each answer again and may search again, so sources change between runs and over time.
Does Search Console show AI Overviews separately?
No. Google counts them inside the Performance report under the Web search type.
How often should I check?
Once a month with the same questions is enough to see a trend.
Continue reading
- How does easyIndex work, what do I need, and how long until results?
- How much does easyIndex cost?
- How do I measure visitors who come from ChatGPT and other AI assistants?
- Which AI crawlers exist and how do I allow them in robots.txt?
- How do I write a page that AI assistants cite?
- How long does GEO take to show results?
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