Authority citation
Definition
An authority citation is a source cited in an AI answer that is a recognized independent authority, such as an industry publication, review platform, or news outlet, and that references the brand. It signals that the AI model trusts third parties who vouch for you.
AI models weigh independent sources heavily precisely because those sources are not you. Being described well by an authority the engine already trusts is worth more than another page of your own marketing.
In practice, authority citations are where visibility is won or lost for most brands: the directories, best-of lists, and review platforms an engine keeps returning to are a small, discoverable set. If you are absent from the ones your category leans on, the fix is a list you can work through.
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