As generative AI becomes a core part of how users interact with search, knowing where and how your domain appears in ChatGPT’s responses is becoming as important as traditional SEO rankings. For marketing professionals, IT departments, and digital leaders navigating AI-era visibility, SEMrush’s ChatGPT Position Tracking offers a new lens on domain performance.
But here’s the big question: What’s the difference between a response and a citation in SEMrush’s world?
The Shift to AI-Generated Search
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other large language models are changing how users find answers online. Instead of serving up a list of blue links, these tools generate conversational responses that pull from a range of sources—including your site. If your domain is referenced, that’s great news—but not all references are equal.
SEMrush’s ChatGPT Search Tracking parses these responses and classifies your domain’s visibility into two key types:
- Response: You’re part of the AI’s actual answer.
- Citation: You’re listed as a reference or source.
Understanding this distinction is critical to prioritizing content, improving discoverability, and reporting impact accurately.
What Qualifies as a “Response”?
In SEMrush’s system, a response is when your domain appears within the body of the AI-generated answer. Think of it like this:
If ChatGPT says something like “According to example.com…” or includes a hyperlink to your site in the answer text, SEMrush logs this as a response.
This is prime digital real estate. Your content is being used to shape the narrative—the answer users actually read. From a marketing or CX standpoint, being in the response means higher engagement, authority, and influence.
What Counts as a “Citation”?
A citation, on the other hand, is when your site appears only in the sources list, often at the bottom or side of the AI response. Your content contributed to the answer, but didn’t make it into the main conversation.
Think of citations like the bibliography at the end of a paper. Important? Yes. But they don’t get the same screen time.
In SEMrush’s rankings, citations are tracked and valued, but always ranked after responses.
How SEMrush Tells the Difference
SEMrush’s crawler is trained to distinguish between these two placements based on how ChatGPT structures its output. When scanning a ChatGPT result, SEMrush identifies two areas:
- The Response Area – The main AI-generated narrative answer.
- The Citation Area – A reference section often labeled “Sources” or “Citations.”
If your domain appears in Area 1, SEMrush logs it as a response. If it’s only in Area 2, it’s a citation.
This technical distinction becomes a strategic insight. You can now optimize not just for appearing in AI answers—but for being quoted directly.
Key Takeaways for Your Strategy
- Aim for Response Status: Structure content so that it’s quotable, credible, and AI-readable.
- Monitor Both Metrics: Use SEMrush’s ChatGPT tracking to see which pages are earning responses vs. citations.
- Bridge SEO and AI Visibility: Combine traditional keyword optimization with techniques that improve AI retrieval (e.g., concise summaries, clear headings, expert tone).
Final Thought
We’re entering a new phase of search where the answer is the product. Being referenced isn’t enough—you want your domain to shape the story.
Understanding how SEMrush classifies citations vs. responses is your first step toward owning your space in AI-driven discovery.
