Why being cited is not the same as being quoted
A citation is a footnote. The answer is the product. When 83% of AI Overview searches end without a click, the reader's entire impression of your category comes from the composed text above the sources, and your brand either lives in that text or it does not.
The fix is not more backlinks. The fix is writing the sentence a model can lift whole: a specific claim, a real number, phrasing that survives being quoted out of context.
How to check for one
Take the five questions a buyer asks before choosing in your category and run them through ChatGPT and Perplexity. Read the answer rather than the source list.
If a competitor's phrasing is in the words and your name is only a link underneath, you are looking at a ghost citation, and you do not have a ranking problem.
The argument behind the term: Ghost citation: the short take →
Related terms: Native Organic Distribution · Distribution debt · The citation gap · Answer laundering