AI Citation Tracking Tools (2026): 14 Compared, 5 Free
An AI citation tracker records which web pages AI engines cite as sources when they answer a question, and whether your site is one of them. It is narrower than brand monitoring, which only checks whether your name appears, and it is the measurement behind every "get cited by ChatGPT" plan.
We compared nine paid trackers and five free options. Each paid tool's engines and citation features come from its own feature or pricing page, read on 5 November 2026 (entry prices for Otterly, Peec and Profound were read on 15 October 2026 for our LLM SEO tools comparison). The two free web tools that rank for "free AI citation tracker" we ran ourselves, on the same public brand, on 5 November.
The Short Answer
- For both Google AI surfaces and published pricing: RankScope Professional, $149/mo, covers ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Google AI Mode, and splits every cited source into your pages, competitor pages and third-party sites.
- For the most engines: OmniSEO lists ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot; Otterly lists seven engines, three of them as add-ons.
- For enterprise citation analytics: Profound shows every cited URL per prompt and tags sources as owned, competitor or earned media.
- Free, for Microsoft surfaces: the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools counts your citations in Copilot and Bing's AI summaries, page by page.
- Free, one-off check across four engines: RankScope's free AI citation tracker lists every page the answers cite, who is on each page and where it ranks in Google, with no signup.
How We Compared These Tools
Four questions decide whether a citation tracker is useful:
- Cited page or cited domain? "g2.com cited you" is a curiosity. "This G2 category page is cited for 'best CRM for startups', and your competitor is listed on it" is a task.
- Which engines? ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode each cite different pages. AI Mode is a separate Google surface from AI Overviews, with its own sources.
- Competitor sources. Does the tool show the pages that cite your competitors but not you?
- Repeat runs. AI citations churn daily, so a tracker has to re-run the same prompts and show what changed.
Where a vendor's page does not state something, the table says "not stated on its page". That is not the same as "doesn't have it".
AI Citation Tracking Tools Compared
| Tool | Engines named on its citation page | Cited URLs or domains | Competitor citations | Free option | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RankScope | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Google AI Mode (2 on Starter) | URLs, split into yours, competitors' and third-party | Yes (3 competitors on Starter, 10 on Professional) | Free AI citation tracker | $49/mo ($39/mo billed annually) |
| Otterly.AI | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews (some as add-ons) | Both: "stores every cited URL", plus a domain ranking | Yes, mention check on cited pages | Free trial | $29/mo Lite (15 Oct) |
| Profound | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews named | "every cited URL for each prompt" | Yes, sources tagged as competitor | 7-day trial (15 Oct) | Custom quote |
| OmniSEO | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot | Both, page-level attribution | Yes, citation benchmarking | 7 days free | Not stated on its page |
| Similarweb | ChatGPT, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity | Both, with an influence score per URL | Yes, competitor page scores | Free trial | $99 (AEO Intelligence) |
| Siftly | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, AI Overviews | Both | Yes, top-cited pages in your space | "Starts free" (not detailed) | Not stated on its page |
| Snoika | ChatGPT and AI Overviews "first" | Full URLs, tagged by owner | Yes, competitor URLs next to yours | Free audit | Not stated on its page |
| Peec AI | You choose 3 models on self-serve plans | Key sources (domains shown; URLs not stated) | Benchmarking against competitors | Free trial | $95/mo Starter (15 Oct) |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot (+ Claude on custom prompts) | "which pages and domains get cited" | Share of voice vs competitors | Included with paid Ahrefs plans | Custom prompts from $50/mo |
Read on each linked page on 5 November 2026 unless dated otherwise.
Free AI Citation Trackers
Five free options, each covering a different slice:
| Free option | What it checks | What you get | Limits (our test or its page, 5 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RankScope free AI citation tracker | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Perplexity | Every cited page, which engines cite it, whether you and your competitors are on it, its Google top-10 position | 3 questions per check, each asked once; 3 checks a day; no signup |
| Bing Webmaster Tools: AI Performance | Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing, some partners | Total citations, cited pages per day, page-level citation counts, a sample of grounding queries | Your own verified site only; public preview since 10 Feb 2026 |
| AIclicks free AI citation tracker | ChatGPT with web search | Generated buyer prompts, the domains ChatGPT cited most, whether you were cited | In our test the full source list and full answers opened only after signup; one engine |
| Georion AI citation tracker | Five engines named on its page | A per-engine cited or not-cited flag and a 0-100% score | In our test ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot returned no answer text and were scored as not citing the site; the URL and question were sent to Georion's server |
| AI Citation Tracker (Chrome extension) | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google, Bing as you browse | Highlights your brand and up to three competitors in answers | Brand names only, no cited URLs listed; counts reset when the browser closes |
Our test: we ran AIclicks and Georion on folk.app, a public CRM brand. AIclicks generated three buyer prompts ("best AI CRM software for startups" among them), ran them on ChatGPT and listed 26 cited domains, with folk.app cited twice. Georion asked "what is folk CRM" and scored 40%: Claude and Gemini cited folk.app, while the other three engines came back with no text at all. A brand-definition question that returns no answer is more likely a failed call than a real "not cited", which is why we count failures separately from misses in our own tools.
The Trackers, One by One
1. RankScope
Best for: teams that need both Google AI surfaces and want to see why a competitor is cited instead of them Engines: Starter: ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews. Professional and Agency: adds Perplexity and Google AI Mode. Price: Starter $49/mo, or $39/mo billed annually. Professional $149/mo, Agency $399/mo. No free trial on paid plans; no credit card required to sign up.
RankScope runs your prompts daily and records each answer with its sources. Citations by Source lists every source AI engines cite, split into your pages, competitor pages and third-party sites, for each engine. Competitor Content Audit shows the competitor pages that get cited, the prompts they win that you don't, and the sources citing them. Citation Velocity shows whether citations are growing or slowing, for you and for each competitor. See pricing for limits per plan.
2. Otterly.AI
Otterly's citation tracker lists seven engines and "stores every cited URL across your prompt set", with a domain ranking and a mention check that flags whether a cited page names you or a competitor. It also surfaces sources that cite you without mentioning your brand. On 15 October Lite was $29/mo with 15 prompts; AI Mode, Gemini and Claude are add-ons.
3. Profound
Profound "shows every cited URL for each prompt it monitors" and categorises sources as owned, competitor, earned media, PR wire, social or institution. Watched Pages tracks citations for specific pages over time. Pricing is by quote; on 15 October it offered a 7-day trial.
4. OmniSEO
OmniSEO records which page was cited, the query that triggered it, its position inside the answer and which competitors appeared in the same response. Its page names six engines and says it covers "10-plus AI platforms". It offers 7 days free; prices are on a separate page.
5. Similarweb AI Brand Visibility
Similarweb's citation analysis drills from domains to individual URLs, each with an influence score, and flags cited Reddit and Quora threads. It lists ChatGPT, AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity, and prices AEO Intelligence at $99 for one user.
6. Siftly
Siftly lists the most-cited pages in your space, classifies each citation as owned, independent media, social or competitor, and separates linked citations from named references. Its page names ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
7. Snoika
Snoika monitors ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews first, lists the URLs each answer linked, tags each by owner and flags prompts where a rival is cited and you are not. It offers a free audit that returns results in about two hours.
8. Peec AI
Peec AI's Find Key Sources view shows the domains AI engines lean on in your category, with recommendations such as placing a story where editorial domains are often cited. You pick three models on each self-serve plan; Starter was $95/mo on 15 October.
9. Ahrefs Brand Radar
Brand Radar measures how often AI links to your pages or domains as a source, and its Topics views show which pages and domains get cited, next to Ahrefs' backlink data. Custom prompts start at $50/mo; the AI visibility index starts at $199/mo.
Citation vs Mention
A citation is a linked source: the answer points to a URL. A mention is your name in the answer's text. The two move independently. ChatGPT can recommend your product while citing a review site, and Perplexity can cite your page in an answer that never names you.
Track both, and treat them differently. A mention without a citation usually means the engine knows you from other sources; the fix is getting onto the pages it cites. A citation without a mention means your content is used but your brand isn't attached to it; the fix is on your own page. For more on the difference, see AI citations vs backlinks.
How Often AI Citations Change
Fast. GetMentions tracked 2,398 queries on four engines daily for seven days in June 2026 and measured a median day-over-day citation churn of 82% on ChatGPT, 92% on Gemini, 78% on Google AI Mode and 43% on Perplexity (AI Citation Volatility study, July 2026). Our own re-run of 50 questions found the same pattern on Google: about 2.7 days later, only 14-18% of the pages Google's AI cited for a question were cited again, while pages cited by two or more engines came back 77-91% of the time.
Two consequences. A single run is a sample, not a verdict, so read any free check as "one look". And a tracker earns its name only by re-running the same prompts and showing what changed.
How to Track AI Citations Without a Tool
- Write 10-20 prompts your buyers would ask, in their words: "best [category] for [use case]", "[competitor] alternatives", "[your category] pricing".
- Run each prompt in ChatGPT (with search on), Perplexity and Google, and note AI Overviews and AI Mode separately.
- Record every cited URL, which engine cited it, and whether you or a competitor is listed on that page.
- Repeat weekly, same prompts, same engines, and compare.
- Act on the pages that cite competitors but not you: get listed, pitch the author, or publish the comparison those pages are built from.
That is a few hours a week at 20 prompts. A tool does the same thing daily and keeps the history. For the content side, see how to get cited by ChatGPT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an AI citation tracker?
An AI citation tracker runs a set of questions through AI engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, and records which web pages each answer cites as sources, including whether your site is one of them. Run on a schedule, it shows which pages gain or lose citations over time.
Is there a free AI citation tracker?
Yes, with limits. Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report counts your citations in Microsoft Copilot and Bing's AI summaries. RankScope's free AI citation tracker runs ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode and Perplexity and lists every page the answers cite, with who is on each page. AIclicks' free tool runs ChatGPT; in our test on 5 November 2026 its full source list opened only after signup.
What's the difference between an AI citation and a mention?
A citation is a linked source in the answer. A mention is your brand name in the answer's text. You can be mentioned without being cited, and cited without being mentioned, and each needs a different fix.
What sources does ChatGPT use?
When ChatGPT searches the web it cites the pages it used, and those pages differ by question and change from day to day. The reliable way to know which pages it cites for your category is to run your buyers' questions and record the sources, which is what a citation tracker automates.
How often do AI citations change?
Daily. GetMentions measured median day-over-day citation churn of 82% on ChatGPT and 43% on Perplexity in June 2026. That is why one check is a sample and tracking means repeating the same prompts.
Which AI engines should I track citations in?
The ones your buyers use. For most teams that means ChatGPT, Perplexity and both Google surfaces: AI Overviews and AI Mode cite different pages, so tracking one does not cover the other.
Where to Start
Run the free AI citation tracker on your domain to see which pages four engines cite for your category today. If the same competitors keep showing up on the same pages, that is the list to work through, and the point where daily tracking pays for itself.
