Sources
Read domain and page evidence, separate source use from citation, and prioritize opportunities with context.
Sources, retrievals, and citations
A source is a web page observed while an AI provider is forming an answer. The interface says Used in answers when a page was present in the provider's source evidence. An explicit citation is a page attached or referenced in the final answer.
Domains groups evidence by website. Pages keeps the exact page. Your channels focuses on configured owned and social profiles. Opportunities shows competitor-visible source gaps.
| Term | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Used in answers | The number of analyzed answers that included the source in provider evidence. |
| Explicit citations | The number of times final answers explicitly referenced the source. |
| Answer coverage | The share of analyzed answers that used the source. |
| Change | The difference in answer uses from the preceding matching period. No comparison appears when that period has no completed answers. |
What counts as a gap
A gap answer contains competitor visibility but no owned-domain source evidence. Competitor visibility can come from a tracked competitor mention or from a tracked competitor domain being retrieved or cited. Mentioning your brand in the answer does not by itself close a source gap.
Gap Analysis can be read by domain, URL, competitor, domain type, URL type, provider, model, market, country, topic, and tag. Narrow the filters until the opportunity represents one coherent audience and intent.
How to prioritize an opportunity
- Confirm repeated evidence Prefer sources that appear across multiple completed answers or runs, not a single isolated response.
- Open the underlying answers Check that the prompt intent and competitor context are relevant to the work you can influence.
- Identify the source type Owned pages suggest content or technical work; editorial, reference, community, and marketplace sources require different outreach or participation strategies.
- Choose the smallest useful action Improve an existing page, create a missing comparison or guide, fix crawlability, or plan a targeted external-source relationship.
Match the response to the source type
Different source types require different work. The same gap score can point to an owned page you control, an editorial publication that needs a strong story, a reference page with a correction process, or a community where participation must be useful and authentic.
| Source type | Questions to ask | Typical response | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owned website | Does an existing page satisfy the prompt intent and expose clear evidence? | Improve the relevant page or create the missing format without duplicating content. | |||
| Editorial | Why is this publication trusted for the topic and what evidence would interest its audience? | Develop a credible story | expert contribution | data point | or PR relationship. |
| Community or UGC | Are customers discussing the problem naturally and is participation appropriate? | Support genuine customer education and community participation; avoid promotional spam. | |||
| Reference or institutional | Is information incomplete | outdated | or unsupported? | Follow the source's formal contribution or correction process with verifiable facts. | |
| Competitor-owned | Which claim | format | or proof is earning retrieval? | Learn from the intent and evidence without copying the competitor's wording or assets. |