{ "studySlug": "citation-decay", "title": "The Half-Life of AI Citations", "description": "How quickly citations vanish, which models retain them longer, and which domains stick. Answer pages, reference facts, and live trackers drawn from this study.", "lastUpdated": "2026-03-30", "sourceStudyTitle": "The Half-Life of AI Citations", "sourceStudyUrl": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay", "stats": [ { "label": "Answers", "value": "12" }, { "label": "Facts", "value": "8" }, { "label": "Trackers", "value": "2" } ], "featuredAnswer": { "kind": "answer", "slug": "how-long-do-ai-citations-last", "title": "How long do AI citations last?", "description": "An analysis of the lifespan of AI citations based on the study The Half-Life of AI Citations.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-long-do-ai-citations-last" }, "sections": [ { "title": "Answer Pages", "description": "Narrow questions answered directly from the study.", "items": [ { "kind": "answer", "slug": "how-long-do-ai-citations-last", "title": "How long do AI citations last?", "description": "An analysis of the lifespan of AI citations based on the study The Half-Life of AI Citations.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-long-do-ai-citations-last" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "what-does-a-thirty-one-day-brand-half-life-actually-mean", "title": "What does a 31-day brand half-life actually mean?", "description": "It means brand-level AI presence tends to halve from its peak within about a month. The study’s average brand half-life is 31 days.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/what-does-a-thirty-one-day-brand-half-life-actually-mean" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "are-most-ai-citations-one-and-done", "title": "Are most AI citations one and done?", "description": "Yes. 72.8% of citation URLs in the study appear once and never return.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/are-most-ai-citations-one-and-done" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "how-many-brands-have-truly-stable-ai-visibility", "title": "How many brands have truly stable AI visibility?", "description": "Very few. Only 13.2% of brands in the stability analysis qualify as very stable.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-many-brands-have-truly-stable-ai-visibility" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "how-fast-can-ai-visibility-drop-after-a-peak", "title": "How fast can AI visibility drop after a peak?", "description": "Very fast. 47.1% of brands halve within 7 days, and average weekly mention change reaches 51.8% in the study.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-fast-can-ai-visibility-drop-after-a-peak" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "is-ai-visibility-more-volatile-than-traditional-search-rankings", "title": "Is AI visibility more volatile than traditional search rankings?", "description": "Yes in practice. The decay benchmark shows immediate URL churn, a 31-day brand half-life, and large day-to-day movement, all of which point to a much more fluid surface than classic static rankings.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/is-ai-visibility-more-volatile-than-traditional-search-rankings" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "what-is-the-right-refresh-cadence-if-citations-decay-this-fast", "title": "What is the right refresh cadence if citations decay this fast?", "description": "The cadence has to be tighter than most editorial calendars assume. When the median citation lasts 0 days and the average brand half-life is 31 days, quarterly reaction loops are too slow.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/what-is-the-right-refresh-cadence-if-citations-decay-this-fast" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "does-a-citation-win-mean-you-have-a-durable-position", "title": "Does a citation win mean you have a durable position?", "description": "Usually no. A one-time citation win is often ephemeral because most citations vanish quickly and only 6.8% are still active at the end of the observation window.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/does-a-citation-win-mean-you-have-a-durable-position" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "what-is-the-most-important-metric-in-the-decay-study", "title": "What is the most important metric in the decay study?", "description": "The combination of one-and-done rate and brand half-life is the clearest operating pair. Together they show how weak URL persistence can still translate into a slower but real brand-level decay curve.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/what-is-the-most-important-metric-in-the-decay-study" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "why-should-brands-monitor-ai-visibility-continuously", "title": "Why should brands monitor AI visibility continuously?", "description": "Because the underlying citation layer is highly unstable. Fast URL churn and steep brand-level decay mean snapshot reporting can miss both losses and recovery windows.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/why-should-brands-monitor-ai-visibility-continuously" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "what-does-the-decay-data-say-about-brand-resilience", "title": "What does the decay data say about brand resilience?", "description": "It says resilience is rare and earned. Only 13.2% of brands qualify as very stable, while the majority experience moderate to high volatility.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/what-does-the-decay-data-say-about-brand-resilience" }, { "kind": "answer", "slug": "how-should-teams-interpret-short-lived-citation-spikes", "title": "How should teams interpret short-lived citation spikes?", "description": "Interpret them cautiously. A spike can be real and still fail to persist because most citations are one-and-done and the median URL lifespan is 0 days.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-should-teams-interpret-short-lived-citation-spikes" } ] }, { "title": "Reference Facts", "description": "Short, quotable claims with metrics and methodology context.", "items": [ { "kind": "fact", "slug": "nearly-three-quarters-of-citations-appear-once-and-vanish", "title": "Nearly three quarters of citations appear once and vanish", "description": "An analysis of 108,650 distinct citation URLs tracked longitudinally in The Half-Life of AI Citations study reveals the volatility of AI generated references.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/nearly-three-quarters-of-citations-appear-once-and-vanish" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "the-median-citation-lifespan-is-zero-days", "title": "The median citation lifespan is 0 days", "description": "In The Half-Life of AI Citations study, researchers analyzed the persistence of AI-generated citations and found that the majority disappear immediately upon subsequent queries.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/the-median-citation-lifespan-is-zero-days" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "the-average-citation-lifespan-is-only-six-point-eight-days", "title": "The average citation lifespan is only 6.8 days", "description": "The Half-Life of AI Citations study evaluated the longevity of source links by measuring the average URL lifespan across a sample dataset.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/the-average-citation-lifespan-is-only-six-point-eight-days" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "brand-level-ai-presence-halves-in-about-thirty-one-days", "title": "Brand-level AI presence halves in about 31 days", "description": "Brand presence decays more slowly than individual URLs, but still quickly.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/brand-level-ai-presence-halves-in-about-thirty-one-days" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "nearly-half-of-brands-halve-within-a-week", "title": "Nearly half of brands halve within a week", "description": "Fast decay is common, not exceptional.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/nearly-half-of-brands-halve-within-a-week" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "only-thirteen-percent-of-brands-are-very-stable", "title": "Only 13.2% of brands are very stable", "description": "An analysis of brand stability within AI citations reveals that a small minority of brands maintain consistent visibility over time.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/only-thirteen-percent-of-brands-are-very-stable" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "only-six-point-eight-percent-of-citations-are-still-active-at-the-end", "title": "Only 6.8% of citations are still active at the end of the window", "description": "Persistence is the exception rather than the rule.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/only-six-point-eight-percent-of-citations-are-still-active-at-the-end" }, { "kind": "fact", "slug": "weekly-mention-change-exceeds-fifty-percent-in-the-benchmark", "title": "Weekly mention change exceeds 50% in the benchmark", "description": "The surface is highly dynamic week to week.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/weekly-mention-change-exceeds-fifty-percent-in-the-benchmark" } ] }, { "title": "Trackers", "description": "Live benchmark views built from the study’s most reusable dimensions.", "items": [ { "kind": "tracker", "slug": "citation-persistence-tracker", "title": "Citation persistence benchmark", "description": "Research tracker page for The Half-Life of AI Citations study, focusing on the Citation persistence benchmark.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/trackers/citation-persistence-tracker" }, { "kind": "tracker", "slug": "visibility-stability-tracker", "title": "Visibility stability by brand cohort", "description": "Research tracker page for Trakkr detailing the study The Half-Life of AI Citations, focusing on visibility stability by brand cohort.", "path": "/trakkr-research/citation-decay/trackers/visibility-stability-tracker" } ] } ] }