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Part II - Map · Chapter 06

Competitor citation analysis

What AI systems cite tells you what they trust.

1 min read

In this piece
  1. Run the audit
  2. Classify the sources
  3. Read the pattern
  4. Common mistakes

The fastest way to learn what AI systems trust in your category is to look at what they cite.

Run the audit

  1. Run each prompt in your set on the main platforms.
  2. Record every cited URL and every brand named in the answer.
  3. Repeat each prompt several times, ideally across different days, because answers vary.
  4. Count how often each domain and brand appears.

Classify the sources

  • Brand sites: yours and competitors'.
  • Editorial: trade press, news, review publications.
  • Lists and comparisons: "best X" articles and directories.
  • Community: Reddit, forums, Quora.
  • Reference: Wikipedia, government and standards bodies.
  • Video: YouTube in particular.

Read the pattern

If brand sites dominate, your own pages are the main battleground. If lists and community threads dominate, you need to be present there, and chapters 13 to 15 matter more than new blog posts.

Also look at what cited competitor pages have in common: format, depth, freshness, data. That is your brief.

Common mistakes

  • Running each prompt once and treating the result as fact.
  • Copying a competitor's page rather than learning why it was chosen.

Key takeaways

  • Run each prompt several times.
  • Classify sources by type.
  • The source mix tells you where to work.