Understanding sources

Watch “Understanding your sources” on YouTube Sources are the foundation of AI optimization. While you can’t directly influence AI responses or training data, you can influence the sources AI models reference. Understanding the sources that are being used by the AI models can help identify which websites and pages are building your brand’s authority and which ones are helping your competitors.

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Why sources matter

Sources play an important role in your AI visibility. They are the URLs AI models access while generating a response, while citations are the sources explicitly referenced in the final answer. Both can influence what AI says and which brands it recommends. You have direct control over the content on your own website and can influence external sources through PR, partnerships, community engagement, and social channels. Building a stronger presence across the sources AI relies on can help increase your visibility in AI responses. Under Sources, you’ll find the Domains and URLs pages. Use both to understand the types of content AI models rely on when answering your tracked prompts. These insights can help you reverse-engineer what’s working for competitors and other domains, identify content opportunities, and find websites where partnerships or collaborations could help increase your visibility.

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Gap Analysis

You can access Gap Analysis directly from the sidebar or use it within the Domains and URLs pages. It highlights sources where your competitors appear but your brand does not, helping you uncover content gaps and potential partnership opportunities you might otherwise miss. Use these insights to understand where competitors are gaining visibility and identify opportunities to strengthen your own content strategy. How to prioritize opportunities:

• Start with high Gap Scores: Focus on sources that are frequently used by AI and where multiple competitors already appear.
• Review URL details: Click any URL to see how AI models have used that page over time, including which prompts consistently retrieve and cite it.
• Choose your approach based on the source type: Editorial sites may be better suited for PR or partnership outreach, while UGC platforms may offer opportunities for direct community engagement.

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How to use Source insights

Different source types require different optimization approaches. Use your source data and Gap Analysis to understand where your brand is missing and prioritize the opportunities worth focusing on. A few strategies based on source type:

• Editorial: Focus on digital PR and journalist outreach.
• Corporate: Explore partnerships and directory listings.
• UGC: Engage authentically in relevant communities, collaborate with creators, or identify channels worth reaching out to.
• Reference: Update incomplete or inaccurate information through the appropriate channels.
• Your own website: Optimize your content structure and make sure your pages are accessible and easy for AI to understand.

For URLs, you can also see which types of pages are being cited, such as Articles, Listicles, How-to Guides, and Comparisons. Use this to understand which content formats perform well in your industry and where you may want to adjust your own content strategy.

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Understand social sources in more detail

Social platforms such as YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram can play an important role in AI Search. Peec AI gives you additional information under Sources to help you understand how your own and competitors’ social channels are performing, as well as identify third-party channels you may want to collaborate with. You can find social channel information in:

• URLs & Domain detail pages: See Channel movers and channel tags next to relevant page titles in the URLs table.
• URL detail page: See the associated Channel highlighted in the KPI row.