# Citation persistence benchmark | Trakkr Research

Canonical URL: https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-decay/trackers/citation-persistence-tracker
Published: 2026-03-30
Last updated: 2026-03-30
Author: Mack Grenfell

Research tracker page for The Half-Life of AI Citations study, focusing on the Citation persistence benchmark.

## Methodology

Built from 857,138 reports, 108,650 citations, 10,991 brands, and 8 tracked models across a 10-month observation window.

## Summary

The benchmark pattern reveals a stark contrast between individual URL persistence and overall brand visibility. While 73.5 percent of citations are one-and-done with a median lifespan of 0 days, brand presence decays at a slower rate with a half-life of 31 days. This indicates that while specific URLs are highly perishable, general brand awareness maintains a longer, albeit still temporary, footprint.

## Benchmark rows

| Metric | Value | Context |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One-and-done citations | 73.5% | Citations that appear once and vanish. |
| Median citation lifespan | 0 days | Most citations disappear immediately. |
| Mean citation lifespan | 6.8 days | Average URL lifespan across the sample. |
| Brand half-life | 31 days | Average time for brand presence to halve from peak. |
| Still active citations | 6.8% | Small share of URLs still active at the end of the window. |

## Ranked view

| Item | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One-and-done citations | 73.5% | The majority of URLs never return after their first appearance. |
| Median URL lifespan | 0 days | The typical citation disappears immediately. |
| Average URL lifespan | 6.8 days | Even the mean persistence is short. |
| Brand half-life | 31 days | Brand presence decays more slowly than individual URLs. |
| Still-active citations | 6.8% | Only a small minority persist to the end of the window. |

## Related pages

Continue through the same study cluster.

- [how long do ai citations last](https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/how-long-do-ai-citations-last) - Related answer page
- [what does a thirty one day brand half life actually mean](https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-decay/answers/what-does-a-thirty-one-day-brand-half-life-actually-mean) - Related answer page
- [nearly three quarters of citations appear once and vanish](https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-decay/facts/nearly-three-quarters-of-citations-appear-once-and-vanish) - Related fact page

## Data And Sources

- [The Half-Life of AI Citations](https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-decay) - Flagship study behind this page
- [Page JSON](https://trakkr.ai/data/research-answers/citation-decay/trackers/citation-persistence-tracker.json) - Machine-readable companion file