AI citation checker for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity

What is an AI citation checker?

An AI citation checker is the sources list on every MentionChecker report, the panel called What the answers were built from. MentionChecker is a pay-as-you-go AI visibility checker. It asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot the questions people ask about what you do, and tells you whether your brand is mentioned in the answers. A citation is a page an AI engine lists under its answer as its source, and a mention is an answer with your brand in it.

Every website has a bar and a number, the share of the check's answers that cited it, and the site of the brand you checked is marked your site wherever its number puts it. The websites the most answers cited are shown first, and one button opens the rest. There is nothing to type in first.

What do AI citations show on the report?

Which pages the answers cited, and how many of the answers each was in. AI citations on a MentionChecker report are shown two ways: Domains, the websites, and URLs, the exact pages. On URLs every cited page is ranked the same way, by how many of the check's answers cited it, with the page's title when the AI engine gave one and its address under it, and each one opens in a new tab.

The rank is by answers, not by links. An AI engine can cite several pages of one website in a single answer, as ChatGPT's answer below cites rtings.com three times, and that counts once for the website on Domains and once per page on URLs, so a website one answer cited several times does not outrank a website many answers cited once.

Where did one answer come from?

From the pages listed under it. Every question on the report opens to each AI engine's answer word for word, and under every answer, Built from lists every website that answer cited, your own site first, then the rest by how many of their pages the answer cited, with a count beside a website the answer cited more than once. Each one is a link to the cited page, and a button says how many more there are.

An AI engine that served no AI answer is shown as such and is not counted. A question the answers did not mention you on shows the names they mentioned instead, and that answer's Built from shows which pages those names came from. That is the list to read first.

What do I do with the sources list?

Read the websites at the top and see whether you are on them. Open the pages on the URLs view: a comparison article, a review, a directory page, a forum thread. If your brand is not on those pages, that is where the answers that leave you out come from. If your own site is on the list, the answers are built from your own pages, and its place on the list says how often.

Then run the check again. A repeat runs the same check daily, weekly or monthly from your balance, and every check keeps its own sources list, so a page you were added to shows on the next check's list if an answer cites it. The AI visibility tracking page shows the repeat, the standings show who is ahead of you on the same answers, and the guide to checking your ChatGPT visibility is the place to start if this is your first check.

The sources list goes with the report. The link you send opens for anyone without a login, the PDF carries the view on screen, the Markdown export lists the view on screen, and the JSON export carries both lists. Include every answer adds every answer with the pages it cited.

What does an AI citation check cost?

An AI citation check costs one credit for each question on each AI engine, asked once. The sources list costs nothing beyond that: both views and the citations under every answer come with every check, and every pack is listed on the pricing page.

Why not read the links under the answer yourself?

Because one chat is one answer, and its links are that one answer's. On 18 September 2026 we asked six AI engines for cosy puzzle games with no ads from the United States: the six answers cited 41 different pages on 21 websites, and five of those websites were cited by more than one AI engine.

Ask the same question tomorrow and the links under the answer can be different ones. OpenAI's help page says ChatGPT may search the web when a question would benefit from current information, and that its results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect (Searching the web with ChatGPT, read on 18 September 2026). A report keeps the citations of the day it ran.

If you want to know where one answer you have just read came from, the links under it say so. Every line on the right is one report, from $9, and your first check is free.

What do people ask about citations in AI answers?

Which websites do the AI engines cite?

The websites on your report's sources list, and they differ by AI engine. On 18 September 2026 the six AI engines answering one question about cosy puzzle games with no ads, asked from the United States, cited 41 different pages on 21 websites, and five of those websites were cited by more than one AI engine. A MentionChecker check keeps every citation and ranks the websites over all of the answers, so the list is for the questions people ask about what you do. Your first check is free.

Is a citation the same as a mention?

No. A mention is an answer with your brand in it. A citation is a page an AI engine lists under its answer as its source. An answer can mention you without citing your site, and cite your site without mentioning you. MentionChecker counts mentions in the standings and citations in the sources list, and under every answer it shows both: who the answer mentioned, and the pages it was built from.

Does the report show the exact pages, not only the websites?

Yes. The sources list has two views. Domains ranks the websites, and URLs ranks the exact pages the answers cited, each with its title when the AI engine gave one and its address under it, so a comparison article or a review the answers keep citing is on the list by name. Run a check and both views are on the report.

Is my own website in the MentionChecker sources list?

If an answer in the check cited your site. Your site is marked your site wherever its number puts it on the sources list, and under every answer that cited it, where it is listed first. If it is not on the list, no answer in the check cited it, and the websites at the top of the list are the ones the answers were built from instead. Run the check and the list says which.

Does the report show ChatGPT citations?

Yes. ChatGPT citations are the links under an answer, shown when ChatGPT has searched the web to answer (Searching the web with ChatGPT, read on 18 September 2026). On a MentionChecker report every ChatGPT answer opens word for word with its own Built from, the pages it cited, each a link, and each is counted in the sources list with the other AI engines' citations. The guide to checking your ChatGPT visibility says where ChatGPT gets its answer. Your first check is free.

Does the report keep Perplexity citations?

Yes. Every citation from every AI engine in the check is kept under the answer it came with, Perplexity's included, and every website is counted once per answer in the sources list, however many of its pages one answer cited. Open any question and each AI engine's answer shows the pages it was built from. Perplexity is one of the four AI engines a check asks unless you change the pick, so its citations are on the report unless you take it out.

Can I open a cited page from the report?

Yes. Every page on the URLs view and every website under an answer is a link that opens in a new tab. MentionChecker lists the page and the AI engine that cited it, and what you do with it is up to you: read it, see whether your brand is on it, or send the report on. A report link opens for anyone, without a login.

Does excluding a name change the sources list?

No. Exclude on a name's row takes that name out of the standings and your numbers, and the latest check is recounted for mentions only. The sources list counts pages, not names, so it stays as it was, and so does every citation under every answer. Nothing is asked again and nothing is charged. Restore is in Settings, under Excluded from your numbers.

Can I see the sources for one AI engine only?

Under each answer, yes: open a question and every AI engine's answer carries its own Built from, so ChatGPT's pages and Perplexity's pages sit under their own answers. The sources list at the top counts every AI engine's answers together, and the report also lists every question with the AI engines that answered it. Your first check is free.

How do I get cited by the AI engines?

The report shows which pages the answers were built from, and OpenAI's help page says a website must let its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, in to be eligible for ChatGPT's search results, and that placement is not guaranteed (Searching the web with ChatGPT, read on 18 September 2026). The sources list is those websites and exact pages, your site marked if an answer cited it, so the pages to be on are listed by name. Run the check again and the report shows whether the answers now cite you.

Does MentionChecker's History track the sources?

No. History tracks how often you were mentioned, your share of voice, your average rank and every name you track, from one check to the next. Every check in History opens as the report it was on the day it ran, with its own sources list and every citation under every answer, so the websites two checks were built from can be read side by side. The AI visibility tracking page describes the repeat.

What does the sources list cost in MentionChecker?

Nothing beyond the check. The sources list and the citations under every answer are part of every report. One question on one AI engine, asked once, is one credit. A check of 25 questions on the four AI engines a check asks by default, ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity, is 100 credits, which is the $17 pack, and the smallest pack is 50 credits for $9. Credits last 12 months, and your first check is free.