{
  "kind": "fact",
  "studySlug": "citation-sources",
  "slug": "reference-sites-are-the-clearest-named-source-family",
  "title": "Reference sites are the clearest named source family",
  "description": "Reference is the strongest named source class even though the long tail is larger in aggregate.",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-04-17",
  "lastTested": "2026-04-17",
  "sourceStudyUrl": "/trakkr-research/citation-sources",
  "sourceStudyTitle": "Where AI Gets Its Answers",
  "claimIds": [
    "citation-sources:reference-share",
    "citation-sources:total-citations"
  ],
  "relatedSlugs": [
    "answer:does-ai-rely-more-on-reference-sites-than-the-open-web",
    "answer:does-social-content-matter-for-ai-citations",
    "tracker:source-category-share-tracker"
  ],
  "methodologySummary": "Built from the live citation index backing Trakkr Research, using 8,777,687 citations across 208,567 unique domains observed between October 3, 2025 and April 17, 2026.",
  "limitations": [
    "The live citation index is broader than the original December 2025 launch study, so percentages here should be read as the current benchmark.",
    "Domain share does not mean causal influence. It measures what models cited, not the full retrieval set.",
    "Category totals are domain-level rollups and may hide differences by model or query intent."
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "AI citations",
    "citation sources",
    "AI source preferences",
    "domain authority in AI"
  ],
  "schemaHints": {
    "pageType": "Article",
    "includeDataset": true
  },
  "claim": "Reference sources account for 6.75% of the current citation corpus, making them the strongest named category in the live index.",
  "supportingMetrics": [
    {
      "label": "Reference category share",
      "value": "6.75%",
      "detail": "Reference sites are the largest named category in the current index."
    },
    {
      "label": "Citations analyzed",
      "value": "8.78M",
      "detail": "Current live citation index as of April 17, 2026."
    }
  ],
  "whyItMatters": "It shows that answer-friendly structure matters as much as domain prestige.",
  "citationBlock": {
    "quote": "Reference sources account for 6.75% of the current citation corpus, making them the strongest named category in the live index.",
    "attribution": "Where AI Gets Its Answers - Trakkr Research",
    "url": "https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-sources/facts/reference-sites-are-the-clearest-named-source-family"
  }
}