How to Win AI Citations for Your Brand
How to Win AI Citations for Your Brand
Answer Spy in QueryBurst probes AI models with strategic questions from multiple angles — with live search grounding — and extracts the criteria that appear repeatedly across responses: trust signals, expertise indicators, pricing transparency, customer evidence, certifications. These criteria are consistent within a category but not publicly documented. Use it to see exactly what AI values when recommending businesses in your industry, ranked by confidence with category breakdowns.
How QueryBurst Answer Spy Works
The Pipeline
- Generate Probes - Creates 5 strategic prompts approaching your topic from different angles
- Query AI - Sends probes to an LLM with Search grounding for real-world context
- Extract Criteria - Analyzes each response to identify evaluation factors
- Synthesize - Merges criteria across responses, calculates confidence, categorizes
Probe Angles
Each analysis generates probes covering:
| Angle | What It Probes |
|---|---|
| Selection criteria | What to look for when choosing |
| Comparisons | Best options, top providers, rankings |
| Red flags | What to avoid, warning signs |
| Questions to ask | Consultation preparation |
| Costs/fees | Pricing, what's fair |
Analysis Types
Service Analysis
For service providers (attorneys, plumbers, consultants, etc.)
Fields:
- Service type (required)
- Location - Geographic targeting
- Specialization - Niche focus
- Target customer - Who you serve
Product Analysis
For products (SaaS, ecommerce, physical goods)
Fields:
- Product description (required)
- Region/Market - Geographic scope
- Key use case - Primary function
- Target user - Ideal customer profile
Content Analysis
For content sites (guides, reviews, how-tos)
Fields:
- Content topic (required)
- Region/Audience - Geographic or demographic
- Content type - Format (articles, videos, etc.)
- Target reader - Who you're writing for
Understanding Results
Criteria Tab
Each extracted criterion includes:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Criterion | The specific factor AI evaluates |
| Category | Grouping (Expertise, Trust, etc.) |
| Confidence | How consistently this appeared |
| Frequency | How many responses mentioned it |
| Recommendation | How to address this criterion |
Confidence Levels
- 🟢 High - Appeared in most responses, core factor
- 🟡 Medium - Appeared in some responses, important
- ⚫ Low - Appeared once, may be edge case
Categories
Criteria are grouped into categories like:
- Expertise & Experience - Qualifications, track record
- Trust & Credibility - Reviews, certifications, transparency
- Service Delivery - Communication, process, availability
- Value - Pricing, outcomes, ROI
AI Responses Tab
View the raw AI responses that criteria were extracted from:
- Full response text with markdown formatting
- Response length and word count
Investigate Site
After extracting criteria, you can investigate how well your site covers them.
How Investigation Works
- Search - AI searches your indexed pages for relevant content
- Read - Reads content sections looking for each criterion
- Report - Reports coverage with evidence and recommendations
Coverage Levels
- ✅ Strong - Clear, prominent coverage found
- ⚠️ Weak - Partial or buried coverage
- ❌ Missing - No relevant content found
Investigation Results
Each criterion shows:
- Coverage status (strong/weak/missing)
- Evidence quotes from your content
- Page URLs where evidence was found
- Recommendations for improvement
Best Practices
Getting Better Results
✅ Do be specific about your service/product
✅ Do include location for local services
✅ Do fill in advanced options for more targeted criteria
✅ Do run multiple analyses for different niches
❌ Don't use overly broad terms ('consultant')
❌ Don't skip location for location-sensitive services
❌ Don't expect identical results each run (AI varies)
Acting on Criteria
High Confidence Criteria:
- These are your priority - AI consistently looks for these
- Create dedicated content addressing each
- Make coverage prominent and easy to find
Medium Confidence Criteria:
- Important differentiators
- Address these to stand out from competitors
- May be context-dependent (location, specialty)
Low Confidence Criteria:
- Consider but don't prioritize
- May become more important over time
- Good for comprehensive coverage
Improving Coverage
After investigation:
- Missing criteria → Create new content
- Weak coverage → Strengthen existing content
- Strong coverage → Maintain and update
Timing
- Criteria Analysis: 1-2 minutes
- Site Investigation: 1-2 minutes
- Parallel queries: 5 AI requests run simultaneously
Technical Notes
Grounding
Probes are sent to an LLM with Search grounding, meaning responses include real-world search data, not just model knowledge.
Synthesis
Criteria appearing in multiple responses are merged, with confidence calculated based on frequency and consistency. Similar criteria are deduplicated.