Engines
The four engines we track.
Each AI engine indexes, retrieves and cites differently. Citations.io tracks all four - and tells you what to fix per engine.
OpenAI
ChatGPT visibility
The largest answer engine by user base. Heavy on Reddit, Wikipedia and major publishers.
Read more →Perplexity
Perplexity visibility
The most citation-transparent engine. Every answer shows the URLs it pulled from.
Read more →Google
Google AI Overviews
Gemini-powered AI answers in Google search. Blends with classic SERP behavior.
Read more →Anthropic
Claude visibility
Conservative citation behavior, increasingly used in enterprise and analytic workflows.
Read more →Engines tracked
4
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude.
Answers analysed
20 per scanned prompt
Split across your prompt set, not divided per engine.
Citations parsed
Every URL
Classified into 11 source types.
Confidence labels
Always
Directional / Moderate / Strong tiers.
How the four engines compare
Different retrieval, different source pools, different playbooks. Track all four or you're guessing.
| Trait | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini / AIO | Claude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brands mentioned | 3–5 | 4–6 | 3–5 | 1–3 |
| Citations shown | Partial | 5–15 | 3–8 | Partial |
| Citation transparency | Partial | Full | Full (carousel) | Partial |
| Top source pool | Reddit, Wiki, publishers | Reviews, Reddit, Wiki | Google index + schema | Wiki, primary docs, analysts |
| Retrieval freshness | Live web | Live web | Live index | Mostly parametric |
| Best audience fit | Consumer + prosumer | Analysts + B2B buyers | Search-native users | Enterprise + regulated |
| Optimisation lag | Weeks | Days | Weeks | Months |
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