How to optimize for AI Mode: Global domain traffic matters 3x more than content

Getting cited by AI Mode takes more than just publishing content. Domain authority, content quality, technical optimization, and social media presence all play a role. But how much, and which factors should you prioritize first?

To answer these questions, we conducted a new research study analyzing over 50 ranking factors that impact AI Mode citations. As a result, we identified the 20 most impactful areas to focus on to boost your chances of being cited.

Of course, understanding the factors is just the first step. Seeing the impact of your efforts in real time is equally important. That’s why we created the AI Mode Tracker. With this tool, you can:

With both the research insights and the AI Mode Tracker, you can not only understand what drives citations, but actively track and improve your presence.

Now, let’s dive into our research findings to see what actually predicts AI Mode citations.

Top 20 factors affecting AI Mode citations

Our analysis shows that Google evaluates multiple signals to decide which pages to cite in its AI Mode answers. Among the top 20 most impactful factors, domain-level authority and brand visibility dominates, followed closely by content and technical metrics.

As you can see, overall domain traffic from regular Google organic is the biggest factor influencing AI Mode citations. In simple terms, websites that attract more visitors from organic channel tend to get cited more often by AI systems.

Right behind that is the number of referring domains, meaning that when lots of other sites link to you, it boosts your credibility and visibility. Next comes content length and Page Trust. AI systems seem to prefer comprehensive pages that cover a topic thoroughly and are backed by a rich set of trusted referring domains.

We also see that brand strength matters: global traffic to the main page and brand search volume suggest that the more popular or recognized a brand is, the more likely it is to be referenced by AI.

Interestingly, having a presence on social platforms like Quora and Reddit also helps. It shows that a brand is part of public conversations (something AI models pick up on as a sign of credibility and engagement).

On the technical side, factors like INP and LCP, which measure how fast and smoothly a page loads, also have an effect. Good site performance supports better visibility and accessibility, which can increase the chance of citations.

And finally, fresh, readable, well-structured content rounds out the list, which confirms that AI favors updated, clear, and comprehensive pages.

Comparing AI Mode vs. ChatGPT citation factors

While AI Mode and ChatGPT both rely on a mix of authority, content quality, technical performance, and social signals, the relative importance of these factors differs:

AI Mode leans more heavily on domain traffic, brand recognition, and semantic relevance, while ChatGPT prioritizes referring domains, domain trust, and overall authority. Both value technical performance and structured, readable content, but AI Mode seems to incorporate public engagement signals (Quora, Reddit) more strongly.

Key tactics to improve your AI Mode visibility

Now that we know which factors have the biggest impact on AI Mode citations, let’s outline some key best practices for brands that want to improve their visibility and rankings within this AI system.

Boost your visibility in Google search

If there’s one thing that really grabs AI Mode’s attention, it’s how much traffic from Google your site already gets. 

Our analysis found that sites with under 2,700 visitors usually earn about 2.4 citations, while the giants pulling in over 1.16 million visitors reach 6.4 citations. That means high-traffic domains are almost 3 times more likely to be cited.

Each subsequent traffic level roughly adds one extra citation, which makes traffic one of the most reliable and consistent factors for boosting AI Mode citations.

Global traffic to your main page matters, too. Sites with very low traffic (up to 10 visitors) average about 3.6 citations, while high-traffic leaders (over 1,500 visitors) reach around 6.5 citations. This shows that traffic to key pages (including homepage traffic, which typically reflects brand strength) plays a significant role in increasing AI Mode citations.

But traffic alone isn’t the whole story. Another key factor is how well your pages rank in Google’s top 10 organic search results.

We decided to test this after noticing in our previous AIM study that the overlap between sources cited by AI Mode and Google’s top 10 results was much higher than the overlap with, let’s say, the top 20. This led us to hypothesize that pages ranking higher in Google have a better chance of being cited by AI Mode. 

The concept of query fan-out makes this even more logical. Pages that consistently rank in the top 10 tend to appear across more different variations of the same query, which increases their overall visibility. Naturally, this gives them a better chance of being picked up and cited by systems like AI Mode.

Our research supports this idea by showing a noticeable correlation: pages that already perform well in Google’s top 10 positions tend to have a higher chance of being referenced by AI Mode.

What this means in practice is that SEO and AI search optimization don’t need to be separate efforts. By focusing on improving your organic search rankings (through keyword targeting, content structure, internal linking, and backlink building) you also increase the likelihood of being cited by AI Mode. 

Essentially, the more visible and authoritative your site is in Google search, the more likely AI Mode will notice and reference it.

Strengthen your domain and page authority

Backlinks are the second most impactful factor for AI Mode citations.

Our analysis shows that domains with fewer than 300 referring domains average about 2.5 citations, while highly linked websites with over 24,000 referring domains reach 6.8 citations.

It’s safe to say that AI Mode treats links from diverse, trustworthy domains as a signal of credibility. Still, it’s not just about the total number of links but about the breadth and quality of the connections pointing to your domain. More referring domains generally mean more independent validation that your content is trustworthy and valuable. 

At the same time, domain-level authority isn’t the only path to gaining citations. Page-level trust offers a way to boost visibility even on smaller domains. 

In fact, pages scoring with a low Page Trust (up to 7) average 2.7 citations, while highly trusted pages (score of 24 or higher) hit 6.2 citations on average. 

Although any rise in PT score is associated with improved citation probability in AI Mode, the critical threshold is around 19–23 points. Beyond this point, pages tend to have the highest chances of being cited by AI Mode.

To sum it all up, building strong backlinks at both the domain and page level (through quantity, quality, and trustworthiness) contributes to your site’s authority and maximizes your chances of being cited by AI Mode.

Increase brand search volume

Brand search volume is another strong signal of authority for AI Mode. In general, the more people search for your brand, the higher the chances your content will be cited.

However, there’s an interesting nuance: extremely high brand search volumes (over 240,000 queries) don’t necessarily give extra credit on their own. While these pages often have the highest number of citations, it’s usually other factors (like backlinks, traffic, and content quality) driving that success, not just the huge brand search numbers.

In short, growing your brand’s search visibility helps, but it works best in combination with solid SEO foundations rather than relying on brand recognition alone.

Build a strong presence on Quora and Reddit

Social visibility matters more than you might think when it comes to AI Mode citations. The model treats mentions and activity on platforms like Quora and Reddit as signals of expertise and authority. 

Quora:

Reddit:

As you can see, too few mentions don’t help much, but too many can actually backfire a little. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle (enough visibility to signal relevance, without appearing excessive).

So, every genuine interaction (whether it’s a detailed Quora answer or a Reddit comment) adds to your brand’s reputation. Over time, these social signals can subtly but meaningfully boost your chances of being cited by AI Mode.

Create in-depth content (1,500+ words)

Content length might seem like a simple metric, but it’s surprisingly influential for AI Mode. The model rewards pages that thoroughly explore a topic. 

Short articles under 500 words earn roughly 4.1 citations, while long-form content exceeding 2,300 words reaches 5.1 citations. That’s a noticeable boost simply from covering your topic more thoroughly.

Here’s the breakdown:

The sweet spot is around 1,500 words. Beyond this, content tends to cover multiple subtopics and provide comprehensive answers, which AI Mode sees as more authoritative. 

For smaller domains, this is particularly useful. The thing is, long, detailed content can partially compensate for weaker traffic or fewer backlinks.

Maintain content freshness with regular updates

Apart from in-depth, comprehensive content, AI Mode also rewards fresh, regularly updated pages. 

Particularly, our research shows that articles updated within the past two months average 5.0 citations, while content untouched for over two years drops to 3.9. 

Even older articles can get a second wind if you add new insights, statistics, or expand sections with more details. The model interprets these updates as a signal of relevance and information currency. So, make sure to perform regular content audits and update key pages every 2–3 months.

Structure content for topical clarity

AI Mode likes content that’s organized and easy to parse. To increase your chances of being cited by this system, each section’s length (the number of words between headings) should stay within an optimal range.

Based on our findings, very short content sections between headings (up to 35 words) tend to earn only about 4.3 citations, likely because they don’t give AI Mode enough context to fully understand the topic. The sweet spot is 100–150 words per section, which boosts citations to around 4.7. 

Interestingly, sections that are too long (over 150 words) see a slight drop back to 4.6 citations, probably because overly dense blocks make it harder for the model to parse the content efficiently.

So, this is what you need to do to get higher probability of AI Mode citations:

Add FAQ sections and question-formatted titles

Some SEO and content experts recommend adding FAQ sections, as they make it easier for AI models like AI Mode to identify clear answers and potentially cite your content. 

To see if this really matters, we looked for typical patterns that signal FAQ content (headings such as “FAQ,” “Frequently Asked Questions,” “Q&A,” “Questions and Answers,” “Common Questions,” and “Popular Questions”).

We didn’t stop there. We also checked pages with question-style titles or headings, since these often provide direct, concise answers that both readers and AI love. For this part of the analysis, we focused on both the page title and the H1 heading to see how AI Mode responds to content framed as a question.

And our findings clearly show that both FAQ sections featured within the main content and question-formatted headings can help you increase AI Mode citations.

• Pages with FAQ sections featured within their content receive 4.9 citations on average, versus 4.4 for pages without.

• Pages that phrase titles or H1 headings as questions average 4.6 citations, compared to 4.5 for pages without.

The best part is that this approach works for both small and large domains. Unlike backlinks or traffic, it doesn’t require extensive resources. Anyone can implement it with minimal effort and see a measurable improvement in AI Mode citations.

When it comes to FAQ schema markup, we didn’t see any meaningful impact on AI Mode citations. Its effect is actually about three times weaker than simply having real FAQ sections in your content. So, it seems like AI Mode cares about the content itself. It values structured answers that show you’re providing comprehensive information, not just technical metadata.

If you have the resources to add schema markup, it’s still worth doing for Google and other search engines where it clearly helps. But don’t rely on it to boost AI Mode citations. Your focus should be on creating high-quality content and FAQ sections with genuinely useful answers.

We’ve also looked at how other types of schema affect AI Mode rankings, so stay tuned to our blog for insights from our upcoming research.

Use clear, semantically relevant URLs and meta descriptions

Now, for this part of our research, we decided to calculate the cosine similarity between the query (keyword) and the actual URL and meta description. This is because we wanted to see whether higher semantic alignment increases the likelihood of being cited by AI Mode.

And in general, our analysis shows that semantic relevance of URLs and meta descriptions plays a subtle but important role. 

Let’s start with URLs.

Pages with broad, descriptive URLs covering the topic naturally get more citations. Too generic or too tightly focused URLs? They can actually underperform.

Now, meta descriptions. Here, the pattern is more straightforward: the better your description matches the topic, the higher your citations. Low-relevance descriptions (0.00–0.48) land 4.1 citations, while higher ranges steadily climb:

To sum it up, make URLs and meta descriptions clear, descriptive, and relevant to the topic as a whole. This helps AI Mode understand your content and boosts your chance of being cited.

Enhance text readability (Flesch-Kincaid level)

Finally, the last content-related factor that plays a subtle yet still meaningful role for AI Mode citations is text readability. Our research shows that AI Mode favors content that’s easy to understand but still informative (not too simplistic, yet not overly complex). 

This tells us that writing clearly pays off. Highly technical jargon or long, convoluted sentences can actually reduce your chances of being cited, even if the content is accurate. Striking the right balance (accessible but authoritative) is key for boosting AI Mode visibility.

Optimize Core Web Vitals (INP, LCP)

Technical performance might not be as influential as domain authority or content quality, but it still matters for AI Mode citations. Let’s break down the two key metrics.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP):

Interestingly, pages with slightly higher INP (meaning more interactive or complex content) tend to get cited more. Super-fast pages sometimes indicate very simple, static content, which the model may not see as authoritative.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):

Unlike INP, LCP shows a more straightforward trend: the faster the main content loads, the better for citations. Extremely slow pages hurt visibility, so avoiding load times above 1.85s is important.

Other technical metrics: CLS, TBT, Speed Index, FCP, and TTFB

Now, let’s talk about some of the other technical metrics. On their own, metrics like Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), Total Blocking Time (TBT), Speed Index, First Contentful Paint (FCP), and Time to First Byte (TTFB) are outside the top 20 in influence. So, individually, their impact is modest. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore them. 

Together, they shape the overall technical impression of your site. For example, optimal TBT consistently grows citations from 4 to 5.2. CLS shows a similar effect, with citations rising up to 4.5 at best values. Speed Index also works predictably: from 4.7 citations at 201 – 1088 ms to 4.5 at over 2673 ms.

Once you’ve optimized your main factors, working on TBT, CLS, and Speed Index can give your site an extra boost. These metrics collectively signal a technically solid website, which can help move a domain to the next level. 

For sites with lower authority, improving technical performance across all these metrics can partially compensate and increase citations.

Research methodology

The goal behind this research study was to examine the factors that affect whether AI Mode uses websites as sources in its responses.

For this research, we analyzed 2,328,533 pages from 295,485 unique domains across 20 distinct niches to ensure both diversity and representativeness.

For each domain, we collected extensive data covering several categories:

To examine how these factors relate to the likelihood of a website being cited, we used an XGBoost regression model. The dependent variable was the number of citations a domain received in AI Mode responses, based on our dataset of over 500,000 prompts. This approach allowed us to determine which factors were the strongest predictors of citation frequency.

To better understand the influence of individual factors, we applied SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) analysis, a game-theory-based method that quantifies the contribution of each feature to the model’s predictions. Our findings highlight the top 20 factors ranked by their impact on citation probability.

Disclaimer: The interpretations presented here aim to be objective, but alternative analyses and perspectives may also be valid.

Conclusion

Our research shows that optimizing for AI Mode requires a triad of authority, content, and technical performance:

For new domains, content and technical factors can compensate for lower authority. For established domains, authority dominates, but content quality ensures continued visibility.

Written by

Yulia Deda

Yulia is an SEO and Content Marketing Expert at SE Ranking, where she dives deep into the worlds of SEO, AI, and digital marketing. Her passion is making industry research easy to understand and practical for everyday marketing. Outside of work, Yulia enjoys long walks, cozy evenings with friends, and exploring different cultures through food and travel.