Cited (Being Cited)

Cited is the second visibility level in the Retrieved-Cited-Trusted Framework — content gets cited as a source in AI responses with a link or brand name. AI cites fragments that best answer sub-queries: those with BLUF in the first 50 words (62% chance of citation), containing facts and numerical data (4.5x more frequently cited), and being autonomous (understandable without context from the rest of the article).

Citation depends on content structure, not Domain Authority; a DA 20 page can be cited before Forbes (DA 90) if it has a better AI SEO Alignment Score. Key metrics determining citation: Information Density, Cost of Retrieval, SRL Salience. In the zero-click search era, being cited builds brand awareness even without clicks (users see 'according to company X...' and remember the name).

In practice, focus optimization on BLUF and chunk autonomy: these are the two strongest factors determining the transition from Retrieved to Cited.