Start with the full response
Do not record only a yes or no citation flag. Keep the prompt, timestamp, complete response, and source URLs. This makes it possible to tell whether the assistant cited your page, a third-party source, or no source at all.
Prompt, date, full answer, and source links. Without those four things, it is hard to know what the citation actually means.
Separate the evidence types
- Owned citation: a returned citation link points to the submitted website.
- External citation: a returned link points to a directory, publication, association, or other third-party page.
- Mention without citation: the business appears in the text, but none of the returned links point to its website.
- Not mentioned or cited: the answer does not name the business, and none of the returned links point to its website.
A citation shows that a page appeared in the links returned with a particular response. It does not prove a universal ranking, an authority score, or a future answer.
Use citations to ask better questions
Across several dated checks, look for pages and topics that recur. Is a particular service page cited? Do external sources explain a topic that your site does not cover? These are questions to investigate, not proof that one edit caused a future answer.
The example report shows how this evidence fits together. The methodology documents the planned Mentsight workflow and definitions.