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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.topify.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

Source metrics track how AI models use and cite content sources when generating responses. These metrics reveal which domains have content authority — the ability to influence what AI search engines say. Sources are analyzed at two levels:
  • Domain level — aggregated across all URLs from a domain (e.g., all pages on techcrunch.com)
  • URL level — individual page performance (e.g., techcrunch.com/article-1)

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Citation count: total references to a source

Definition: Total number of times a source is explicitly referenced in AI responses.

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Formula

Citation count = Total citations of the domain (or URL)
Each citation in a response counts separately. If one response cites two different URLs from the same domain, that’s two citations for the domain. 
Domain: techcrunch.com
Time period: Last 7 days

Response 1: Cited techcrunch.com/article-1, techcrunch.com/article-2 (2 citations)
Response 2: Cited techcrunch.com/article-1 (1 citation)
Response 3: Cited techcrunch.com/article-3 (1 citation)
Response 4: No citations from techcrunch.com

Citation count = 2 + 1 + 1 = 4
Content from techcrunch.com was explicitly cited 4 times across 3 responses.

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Average citations per response

Definition: The average number of times a source is cited per AI response where it appears.

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Formula

Average citations = Total citations of source / Responses where source was cited
Higher values indicate deeper trust — when an AI model uses the source, it tends to cite multiple pages or cite it multiple times. 
Domain: techcrunch.com
Time period: Last 7 days

Response 1: 2 citations from techcrunch.com
Response 2: 1 citation from techcrunch.com
Response 3: 1 citation from techcrunch.com

Total: 4 citations across 3 responses

Average citations = 4 / 3 = 1.33
When AI uses techcrunch.com, it cites an average of 1.33 unique URLs from the domain per response.

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Used: how often a source appears

Definition: The share of AI responses that cited this source within the selected time window. The same definition applies at both domain and URL level.

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Formula

Used (%) = (Responses that cited the source / Total responses analyzed) x 100
Citation depth — how many URLs from the same domain show up when it’s cited — is reported separately as average citations per response (defined above). 
Domain: techcrunch.com
Time period: Last 7 days

Response 1: Cited 2 URLs from techcrunch.com
Response 2: Cited 1 URL from techcrunch.com
Response 3-100: No citations from techcrunch.com

Responses citing techcrunch.com = 2
Total responses analyzed = 100

Used = (2 / 100) x 100 = 2%
techcrunch.com appeared as a source in 2% of AI responses for this project. Across those 2 responses, it averaged 1.5 unique URLs cited per response (reported separately as avg citations).
URL: techcrunch.com/article-1
Time period: Last 7 days

Response 1: Cited this URL
Response 2: Cited this URL
Responses 3-100: Did not cite this URL

Used = (2 / 100) x 100 = 2%
This specific article was cited in 2% of responses, regardless of how many times it was cited within each one.
The “used” metric is your share-of-voice equivalent for sources: it tells you how often AI reaches for this source when answering questions in your space.

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Source categories

Topify.ai classifies cited domains into categories to help you understand the source landscape:
CategoryExamplesDescription
Corporateapple.com, tesla.comOfficial brand and company websites
Editorialnytimes.com, techcrunch.comNews outlets and journalism
Institutional.gov, .edu, who.intGovernment, academic, and institutional sites
Referencewikipedia.org, stackoverflow.comKnowledge bases and reference platforms
UGCreddit.com, youtube.com, medium.comUser-generated content platforms
OtherEdge cases, parked domainsEverything that doesn’t fit the above
These categories help you understand whether AI providers are citing authoritative sources, user-generated content, or your competitors’ sites when answering prompts related to your brand.

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Using sources data to improve your strategy

Sources data helps you answer questions like:
  • Which of your pages are already being cited? Look for your domain in the top domains list. High citation counts mean AI providers trust your content.
  • Where are the gaps? If competitor domains are cited frequently but yours isn’t, you need content that covers those topics.
  • What content types perform best? Compare citation rates across source categories to understand what AI providers prefer to cite.
  • Which pages should you optimize? URLs with high “used” counts are already influencing AI responses — improving them could increase your visibility further.

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FAQ

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How do I get my own pages cited more often?

Look at the domains AI currently cites most for your prompts and study what they have in common: structured headings that match the question, statistics and named numbers, citations to authoritative sources, and a confident tone. Then write content that does those things better. The AI agent’s geo_optimize skill applies these techniques to existing pages automatically — see Using the AI agent.

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My domain isn’t in the source list — why?

Either AI providers haven’t picked up your pages yet, or they have but cite other sources first when answering your tracked prompts. Both are content problems, not data problems: you can fix them by publishing pages targeted at the prompts where your domain is missing, or by improving the pages you already have so they’re more citable.