Inline Citation
An inline citation is a clickable link within an AI-generated answer that points back to the source website, providing transparency and verification.
What is an inline citation?
An inline citation is a clickable link or footnote placed directly within an AI-generated answer that points back to the original source website where the information was obtained. Similar to academic citations, inline citations provide transparency about where AI systems retrieved their information, allowing users to verify facts, explore topics in greater depth, and navigate to authoritative sources for additional context.
Inline citations provide several key benefits:
- Drive traffic directly from AI-generated answers to source websites
- Provide transparency and verification for AI-retrieved information
- Represent critical visibility opportunities in AI-powered search experiences
- Reward authoritative, well-structured content from trusted domains
For content creators and SEO professionals, earning inline citations means creating content that AI systems recognize as credible and relevant enough to reference. Content that provides clear answers, includes proper structured data, demonstrates expertise and authority, and comes from trusted domains is most likely to be cited—making citation-worthiness a key optimization goal in the era of answer engines and AI search.
Learn more: Explore how to optimize for AI citations in our Citation Velocity guide.
