{
  "kind": "tracker",
  "studySlug": "citation-sources",
  "slug": "source-category-share-tracker",
  "title": "AI citation share by source category",
  "description": "Current category mix in the live Trakkr citation index.",
  "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:social-share",
    "citation-sources:reviews-share",
    "citation-sources:docs-share",
    "citation-sources:other-share"
  ],
  "relatedSlugs": [
    "answer:which-sources-dominate-ai-citations",
    "answer:how-concentrated-is-the-ai-citation-landscape",
    "fact:wikipedia-leads-the-current-citation-index"
  ],
  "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": "WebPage",
    "includeDataset": true,
    "includeItemList": true,
    "itemListName": "AI citation share by source category"
  },
  "summary": "The benchmark pattern reveals a highly fragmented citation landscape where a massive 84.51 percent long tail absorbs the vast majority of citation volume. Among named categories, structured factual layers like Reference lead with 6.75 percent, followed by Social at 3.82 percent, indicating that AI models rely heavily on a broad mix of domains rather than a few concentrated sources.",
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Reference category share",
      "value": "6.75%",
      "detail": "Reference sites are the largest named category in the current index.",
      "claimId": "citation-sources:reference-share"
    },
    {
      "label": "Social category share",
      "value": "3.82%",
      "detail": "Social sources matter materially, led by YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn.",
      "claimId": "citation-sources:social-share"
    },
    {
      "label": "Review category share",
      "value": "0.89%",
      "detail": "Reviews are smaller in raw share but disproportionately commercial.",
      "claimId": "citation-sources:reviews-share"
    },
    {
      "label": "Docs category share",
      "value": "0.20%",
      "detail": "Docs are cited less often overall, but they show up in technical query classes.",
      "claimId": "citation-sources:docs-share"
    }
  ],
  "benchmarkRows": [
    {
      "label": "Reference category share",
      "value": "6.75%",
      "note": "Reference sites are the largest named category in the current index."
    },
    {
      "label": "Social category share",
      "value": "3.82%",
      "note": "Social sources matter materially, led by YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn."
    },
    {
      "label": "Review category share",
      "value": "0.89%",
      "note": "Reviews are smaller in raw share but disproportionately commercial."
    },
    {
      "label": "Docs category share",
      "value": "0.20%",
      "note": "Docs are cited less often overall, but they show up in technical query classes."
    },
    {
      "label": "Long-tail share",
      "value": "84.51%",
      "note": "Most citations are spread across a very large long tail of domains."
    }
  ],
  "rankedItems": [
    {
      "name": "Long-tail mixed domains",
      "value": "84.51%",
      "detail": "Most citations land outside the named source buckets."
    },
    {
      "name": "Reference",
      "value": "6.75%",
      "detail": "The cleanest structured factual layer in the index."
    },
    {
      "name": "Social",
      "value": "3.82%",
      "detail": "Community and creator content remains part of the answer surface."
    },
    {
      "name": "Reviews",
      "value": "0.89%",
      "detail": "Small in share, strong in buying-intent use cases."
    },
    {
      "name": "Docs",
      "value": "0.20%",
      "detail": "Niche overall, important for implementation queries."
    }
  ],
  "changes": [
    {
      "title": "Long-tail domains dominate citation volume",
      "detail": "Most citations land outside the named source buckets, with the long tail accounting for 84.51 percent of the total share."
    },
    {
      "title": "Reference and Social lead named categories",
      "detail": "Reference sites form the largest named category at 6.75 percent, providing a structured factual layer, while Social sources capture 3.82 percent of the share."
    },
    {
      "title": "Reviews and Docs serve niche query classes",
      "detail": "Reviews hold a 0.89 percent share but are strong in buying-intent use cases, whereas Docs account for 0.20 percent and are primarily cited in technical implementation queries."
    }
  ]
}