Citations

Find which sources AI models cite for a query, with per-model counts; optionally check a specific URL.

Overview

Aggregate the URLs the models cite for a query, ranked by how many models cited each. Pass an optional url and the response adds a lookup telling you whether that specific URL was cited and by which models.

Need to watch those sources weekly or monthly? Save this input with the Tracker API.

Reference

POST/v1/citations

$0.01 to $0.06/model · billed per model queried, so all 5 models = $0.20. Pass models to query fewer.

Parameters

`query`required	string	The query to look up the web-search sources behind.
`url`optional	string	Optional URL to check for. When set, the response reports whether the models' search surfaced it.
`models`optional	array of enum (chatgpt \| claude \| perplexity \| gemini \| google_ai_overview)	Optional model subset. Omit to query the default surfaces (chatgpt, perplexity, gemini). Pass ["perplexity"] or ["perplexity","claude"] when the user names specific surfaces or wants to reduce cost. The full set is chatgpt, claude, perplexity, gemini, google_ai_overview — to query all of them, set fullSweep instead of listing them.
`fullSweep`optional	boolean	Query all five AI surfaces instead of the three default ones, adding claude and google_ai_overview. Costs more per call. Use it when the user wants complete cross-model coverage, is comparing surfaces against each other, or asks specifically about Claude or Google AI Overviews. Ignored when models is given.

Request

curl https://www.cite42.dev/api/v1/citations \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CITE42_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"best startup CRM","url":"https://acme.example/guides/startup-crm"}'

Response

{
  "query": "best startup CRM",
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://reviews.example/startup-crm",
      "title": "Startup CRM guide",
      "citedBy": [
        "chatgpt",
        "perplexity"
      ],
      "count": 2
    }
  ],
  "lookup": {
    "url": "https://acme.example/guides/startup-crm",
    "cited": true,
    "citedBy": [
      "chatgpt"
    ]
  },
  "measurement": {
    "methodologyVersion": "2026-07-21-v2",
    "surfaces": [
      {
        "model": "chatgpt",
        "provider": "OpenAI",
        "access": "official-api",
        "webSearch": "auto"
      },
      {
        "model": "perplexity",
        "provider": "Perplexity",
        "access": "native-search",
        "webSearch": "always"
      }
    ]
  },
  "requestId": "…",
  "billing": {
    "cost": {
      "microCredits": 20000,
      "usd": "0.20"
    },
    "balance": {
      "microCredits": 1336000,
      "usd": "13.36"
    }
  }
}