When a buyer asks an AI tool for options in your category, does your company appear? And when it does, does the answer point to your content? Those are two different questions, and most teams measure neither.

What is the difference between a mention and a citation?

A mention means the answer names your company. A citation means the answer points to a source of yours, such as a page on your website. A company can be mentioned without being cited, and cited without being named in the text of the answer. Track them separately, because they point to different problems and different fixes.

How do you set up a fair test?

Fix the test before you run it. Write down the buyer questions, the AI tools, the language, the location, and how often you will repeat the test. Start from the questions real buyers ask on sales calls, not from a keyword list. Then leave the test alone. If you must change a question or a tool, record the change so you do not compare two different tests.

Why do you need to run it more than once?

AI answers vary. A single answer tells you very little, so record the sample size and repeat the runs.

Define the share of AI answers as the answers that mention your company divided by all valid answers in your sample. Report the citation rate separately, using the same sample.

What can you honestly say about the results?

You can say what you observed in your sample. You cannot say it describes all buyers or all AI answers. Treat the first run as a baseline, repeat it on a schedule, and look at the direction over time next to leading indicators such as organic discovery, conversion, and feedback from sales.

What should you do with the findings?

Look at the questions that never produce your name and ask why. Is the answer missing from your site? Is it hard to find, unclear, or technically inaccessible? Fix the content and the access, then test again.

That work improves discoverability and citation readiness. It does not guarantee that any AI tool will mention or cite you, and anyone who promises otherwise is selling something you cannot verify.