Source Analysis

Discover which domains and URLs are cited by AI systems in their responses for your topic areas.

TL;DR

Source Analysis shows you which websites AI systems reference when answering questions about your topics. It aggregates all cited domains and URLs from your Topic Area results, broken down by AI platform. Use it to understand which content sources influence AI responses and identify opportunities to improve your own visibility.

What is Source Analysis?

When AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Claude generate responses, they often reference external websites as sources. Source Analysis collects these citations across all prompts in your Topic Area and provides a comprehensive overview of:

  • Which domains are cited most frequently
  • Which specific pages (URLs) are referenced
  • Which AI systems cite which sources
  • The distribution of citations across domains

How to Access Source Analysis

  1. Run a Topic Area Analysis
    Navigate to your Topic Area and run the analysis. The AI systems will generate responses to your prompts and cite their sources.
  2. Open the Results Page
    After the analysis is complete, go to the results view of your Topic Area.
  3. Click "Source Analysis"
    You will find the Source Analysis button at the top of the results page, next to the Excel Export button.

Understanding the Dashboard

Summary Cards

At the top you see three key metrics:

  • Domains Found — The total number of unique domains cited across all AI responses.
  • Total Citations — The total number of source references found in all AI responses.
  • Unique URLs — The number of distinct pages (URLs) that were cited.
Charts

Two charts visualize the distribution:

  • Top 10 Domains — A horizontal bar chart showing the most-cited domains by number of citations.
  • Distribution — A doughnut chart showing the share of citations among the top domains.
Domain Table

The detailed table shows each domain with:

  • Number of citations and percentage share
  • Which AI systems (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude) cited the domain
  • Expandable details showing individual pages cited from each domain

Filtering by AI System

Use the filter buttons at the top to view sources from a specific AI platform:

  • All — Shows citations from all AI systems combined.
  • ChatGPT — Only sources cited by ChatGPT.
  • Gemini — Only sources cited by Google Gemini.
  • Perplexity — Only sources cited by Perplexity AI.
  • Claude — Only sources cited by Anthropic Claude.

This helps you understand which sources each AI platform prefers and where your content may need improvement for specific platforms.

How to Use Source Analysis Strategically

  • Identify competitors — See which domains rank above yours in AI citations. These are your competitors for AI visibility.
  • Find content gaps — If certain topics always cite the same external sources, create better content to become the preferred source.
  • Track progress — Run analyses regularly and compare source distributions over time to see if your content gains more citations.
  • Platform-specific optimization — Use the AI system filter to discover which platforms already cite your domain and which ones need more attention.
Good to Know
  • Source data is collected automatically when you run a Topic Area analysis — no additional setup needed.
  • Not all AI systems provide source citations. Perplexity and Gemini typically provide the most detailed source information.
  • The more prompts and analysis runs your Topic Area has, the more comprehensive your source data will be.
← Back to Documentation