What's the difference between mentions and citations?
CrowdReply tracks two distinct things in AI responses: mentions andcitations. They're related but different, and understanding the distinction helps you get the most out of your dashboard.
Mentions
A mention is when an AI model includes your brand name in the text of its response.
For example, if someone asks ChatGPT "What are the best project management tools?" and the response includes "...Asana is great for team collaboration, while Monday.com offers strong visual project tracking..." — both Asana and Monday.com received a mention.
Mentions tell you: Is the AI talking about your brand?
On your dashboard, mentions are reflected in:
- Visibility Score — Based on how often your brand is mentioned across responses
- Sentiment — Whether those mentions are positive, neutral, or negative
- Average Position — Where your brand appears in listed recommendations
- Prompt Details → "Show mentions only" — Filter to see only responses where your brand was mentioned
Citations
A citation is when an AI model references a specific URL as a source in its response.
For example, if ChatGPT answers a question and includes "[Source: reddit.com/r/projectmanagement/...]" or Perplexity lists source links at the bottom of its response those URLs are citations.
Citations tell you: What sources is the AI pulling its information from?
On your dashboard, citations are reflected in:
- Citation Coverage — What percentage of AI responses cite your domain
- Top Citations — The most-referenced source URLs across all responses
- Citations page — Full breakdown of cited domains, platforms, and individual URLs
How they're connected
Here's the important part: mentions and citations are linked, but you can have one without the other.
Scenario | What it means |
|---|---|
Mentioned + Cited | Best case — AI talks about your brand AND cites your website as a source |
Mentioned, not cited | AI knows about your brand but isn't pointing users to your site |
Not mentioned, but your domain is cited | AI links to your content but doesn't name your brand explicitly |
Neither mentioned nor cited | Your brand is invisible for that prompt/model |
Why citations matter more than you think
Citations are the input that drives mentions. AI models form their answers based on the sources they find and trust. If Reddit threads and articles that discuss your brand positively are being cited, the AI is more likely to mention your brand in the response text.
This is why CrowdReply's engagement strategy focuses on citation sources by building your brand's presence on the threads and pages that AI models already cite, you influence both the citations (your domain gets cited) and the mentions (AI starts talking about your brand).
Where to see each on your dashboard
For mentions:
- Overview → Visibility Score & Ranking
- Overview → Share of Voice
- Prompts → Prompt Details → Recent AI Responses (toggle "Show mentions only")
For citations:
- Overview → Top Citations card
- Citations page → Full citation breakdown with engagement options
- Prompts → Prompt Details → Citations tab
Updated on: 22/03/2026
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