Citera separates three things that are easy to mix up.
Mention
Your brand's name appears in an AI answer. It shows awareness, but not necessarily a positive or prominent one. Being mentioned last in a list of eight is technically a mention, which is why Citera also tracks your position and sentiment.
Recommendation
The answer presents your product as a possible choice for the question asked. This is closest to what influences a buying decision.
Citation
A linked source that supports the answer. It may point to your website or to someone else's. A citation shows which page the assistant relied on.
Why each matters
A citation doesn't always recommend you, and a mention doesn't prove anyone visited your site.
Citations reveal where answers come from. If competitors keep getting cited from the same review site or forum, that's where you need to be.
Mentions and recommendations show how you're positioned, and whether facts about you are accurate.
AI traffic shows business impact. With Google Analytics 4 connected, Citera shows visitors who arrived from AI assistants. If mentions rise without traffic following, you may be named but not linked.
Share of voice
Share of voice is your brand's share of all brand mentions across your tracked prompts. Because it's relative, it moves when competitors' visibility moves too. Watch it as a trend over time.