Social Citation
A social citation is a link in an AI answer or search result that points to a social or community site, like a Reddit thread, a YouTube video or a LinkedIn post. No AI company defines the phrase. OpenAI says ChatGPT search answers include links to their sources, and in 2024 it said it would bring Reddit content into ChatGPT.
Source: OpenAI, Introducing ChatGPT search (October 31, 2024), checked October 29, 2026
What Social Citation means for your business
In local SEO, a Facebook or LinkedIn page with your name, address and phone number sometimes goes by the same name. Some SEO checklists call brand mentions on social sites social entity signals, and some writers use social corpus for the public posts AI tools can draw on.
For getting found, the AI-answer sense is the one we'd watch. We'd ask the AI tools your buyers use about your kind of business and note which threads and videos get linked. Then we'd take part where it's honest: answer the question in the thread as yourself, or make the video the thread says nobody has made.
If AI answers in your field keep linking to threads and videos where your name never comes up, we can help you get your business into those conversations.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. All terms
How AI answers it today
On October 29, 2026, Google's AI Overview gave an AI-search meaning and an academic one, citing AI search tool glossaries, local listing companies and university libraries. ChatGPT gave three meanings, led by crediting sources in social posts, with no sources cited.
Our run through ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, October 29, 2026. A sample, not what every buyer sees.
Find out where your brand stands.
Tell us what you're trying to figure out. We'll get back to you within one business day with a time to talk.