Am I cited?
What are competitor citations in AI answers?
Competitor citations are the domains an AI engine cites for the same query — sources that appeared in the engine's top-5 reference list while your page was absent, or that ranked above you when present. Seeklyn surfaces competitor domains in every citation check and, on Pro plans, fetches the specific cited passage so you can compare structure, density, and answer-first positioning.
Competitor domains appear in the "Am I Cited?" results for any engine where your page was not the top citation — upgrade to Pro to see their cited passages at /dashboard/cited.
How does Seeklyn identify competitor citations?
Every engine Seeklyn queries returns a ranked reference list — the sources the engine surfaced for the query. Seeklyn labels each reference as either the target (IsTarget = true) or a competitor (IsTarget = false) and aggregates non-target domains into the Competitors list in the check result. Any domain that appeared in an engine's reference list while yours did not — or that ranked ahead of you — counts as a competitor citation for that (engine, query) pair.
Competitor detection is query-scoped, not domain-wide. A domain you compete with for 1 query may not appear at all for a different query. The Competitors list reflects only the specific question asked in the check, not a general competitive standing. Run multiple queries to build a fuller picture of who consistently displaces you.
Why do competitor citations matter for AEO?
Competitor citations are the most actionable gap analysis AEO can surface. Knowing that ChatGPT cites a competitor instead of you for a query you care about is useful, but knowing which passage they cite is more useful: it tells you exactly what structure, evidence, and framing the engine found quotable. The gap between "not cited" and "rank 1 cited" is almost always a structural difference in the content, not a domain authority question.
3 competitive patterns appear repeatedly in citation analysis. First, a competitor's page opens with a direct, fact-bearing answer while yours buries the key claim. Second, the competitor's passage names 3 or more entities (brands, standards, named studies) while yours uses only generic terms. Third, the competitor attributes claims to a named source or year while yours makes unattributed assertions. All 3 are measurable with Seeklyn's passage citability score.
What does the Pro competitive diff show?
Pro users get 1 additional layer: Seeklyn fetches the winning competitor page and extracts the passage the engine cited — the specific 100–300-word block that was retrieved and quoted. This passage is shown alongside your own best-matching passage for the same query so you can read them side by side.
The diff highlights 4 structural dimensions: answer-first positioning (does the passage open with a declarative answer?), fact density (at least 1 concrete datum per 100 words?), entity count (2 or more named entities in 50+ word passages?), and source attribution (figures credited to a named source or year?). These are the same dimensions Seeklyn's content analyzer scores for your own content — the competitive diff applies that lens to whoever is winning.
| What you see (Pro) | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Competitor domains per engine | Who is being cited instead of (or above) you |
| Cited passage from competitor | The exact text the engine found quotable |
| Structural comparison | Answer-first, fact density, entity count, attribution gap |
| Rank of competitor vs your rank | How far up or down you need to move |
Frequently asked questions
Can a competitor citation be from a different industry than mine?
Yes. AI engines do not always cite the most topically relevant source — they cite the most retrievable and citable passage for the specific query. A high-domain-authority site that has 1 well-structured paragraph touching your topic can displace a specialist site with weaker passage structure. Competitor citations in Seeklyn may include unexpected sources — treat them as examples of what the engine considers a good answer, not just as direct industry competitors.
What if my domain appears in the Competitors list for my own check?
That should not happen — Seeklyn marks references matching your target as IsTarget = true before populating the Competitors list, so your own domain is excluded. If you see behavior suggesting otherwise, check whether the domain you entered exactly matches the domain as Seeklyn normalized it (www stripped, path dropped).
How many competitor domains does Seeklyn return per check?
Seeklyn returns all non-target domains from every engine's reference list — there is no cap. In practice, most engines return 5–10 cited sources, so the Competitors list typically contains 4–9 domains when your page is absent or only partially cited. Each engine's references are kept separate in the engine-level results so you can see which competitor is cited by which engine.
Does appearing in the Competitors list mean a domain ranks above me?
Not necessarily. A domain in the Competitors list means it appeared in an engine's reference list for the query, but rank within that list varies. Seeklyn reports each reference's rank, so you can see whether a competitor is at rank 1 (displacing you entirely) or rank 5 (cited alongside you at a lower position). The competitive diff on Pro shows those ranks explicitly.