Query fan-out
Query fan-out: the searches behind the AI answer.
Query fan-out is the set of searches an AI model runs before it answers a question. CiteHawk captures those sub-queries from the answers it collects, groups them by prompt and checks the concepts behind them against your own site. It runs on every plan, alongside the weekly sweep of up to 8 AI models.
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What is query fan-out?
Query fan-out is how an AI model breaks one question into several web searches before it writes an answer. A prompt such as the best software for a job can become searches for reviews, comparisons and pricing. The searches decide which pages the model reads, so they decide which brands it can name.
Captured, not simulated
Query fan-out examples from real answers
Every sub-query on the page is one an AI model issued for your prompt, read from the answer CiteHawk stored. Nothing is generated to fill the gap, so a model that ran no search shows none.
- The sub-queries behind each prompt, with the model that issued each one
- How many answers in the run carried each sub-query
- The queries on every stored answer, next to its citations
- Concepts and entities named across the searches, each tied to a sub-query or answer
What CiteHawk captures
The searches, the concepts and where you stand
CiteHawk reads fan-out from the AI models that expose it: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok (with the Grok add-on). Perplexity shows the pages it consulted rather than its queries, and DeepSeek, Copilot, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode do not expose their searches at all.
Sub-queries, per prompt
The searches behind each prompt, for up to 60 prompts a run, with the prompts where you are not named taken first.
Concepts with a coverage check
Each concept is checked for the exact term on the site pages CiteHawk has stored.
Sources consulted
The pages the models read, so you can see where the answer came from.
Related
- AI citation trackingThe pages AI cites for your prompts, and whether your brand is on them.
- LLM visibility toolHow often each AI model names your brand, answer by answer.
- ChatGPT visibility trackerChatGPT’s own share of voice, mention rate and citation rate, with every stored answer.
- PricingUp to 8 AI platforms + Grok add-on. Plans step up in prompts and markets.
Frequently asked questions
Query fan-out is the set of web searches an AI model runs to answer one question. The model splits the question into narrower searches, reads the pages those searches return and writes its answer from them. Which searches it runs shapes which brands it can name.
See what AI models searched for before they answered.
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Free AI visibility report · No credit card · 50 prompts · 8 engines