Question 1

What is TrueCite?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite is an AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) platform that tracks your brand visibility across all major AI engines including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and generates content fixes to improve your MentionShare.

Question 2

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Sign up at truecite.ai, choose a plan, and complete the onboarding flow. Starter and Pro include a 7-day free trial. Run your first scan and see your MentionShare score in minutes.

Question 3

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Starter and Pro plans include a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime. The Lite plan ($29/mo) has no trial.

Question 4

What is MentionShare?

Accepted Answer

MentionShare is the percentage of AI-generated responses that mention your brand when users ask buyer-intent questions in your category. A score of 0% means AI never recommends you. 100% means you dominate every answer.

Question 5

Which AI engines does TrueCite support?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite supports 9 AI engines across all plans: ChatGPT and Perplexity (Lite+), Gemini (Starter+), Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek (Pro+), and Copilot, Meta AI, Google AI Overviews (Enterprise). The first 6 use live APIs; Copilot, Meta AI, and Google AI Overviews have no public API and are modeled using trained engine personas.

Question 6

What is a scan?

Accepted Answer

One scan = one prompt × one AI engine. If you run 3 prompts across 2 engines, that uses 6 scans. Scan counts reset on the 1st of each month.

Question 7

What prompts should I use?

Accepted Answer

Use buyer-intent questions your ideal customers actually ask AI engines. Example: "What is the best project management tool for remote B2B teams?" — specific, not generic.

Question 8

Does TrueCite support multiple languages?

Accepted Answer

Yes — TrueCite supports 35 languages across 30 targetable countries. Select a language when creating a scan and the AI engine will respond in that language.

Question 9

How accurate are TrueCite's scan results?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite calls AI engine APIs directly (where available) and uses Claude simulation for engines without public APIs. API-based results reflect the engine's actual response at the time of the scan. Results can vary between scans as AI engines update their models and training data — this is expected behavior, not an error. Running multiple scans over time gives a more reliable picture of your true MentionShare.

Question 10

Does TrueCite support non-English brands and queries?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TrueCite supports scanning in 35 languages. You can set a language for each scan and per-prompt country targeting ensures the AI engine responds in the context of the selected market. This is particularly useful for brands with regional presence in non-English speaking markets.

Question 11

How do scheduled scans work?

Accepted Answer

Scheduled scans automatically run your saved prompts across your selected engines on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You set the frequency and time, and TrueCite handles the rest. Results are saved to your scan history and you receive an email notification when each scheduled scan completes. Scheduled scans require a Starter or above plan.

Question 12

What does the Fix Generator do?

Accepted Answer

The Fix Generator produces AI-optimized FAQ blocks, JSON-LD schema markup, and answer paragraphs based on your scan results. Publishing this content to your website helps AI engines start citing you.

Question 13

How long until fixes work?

Accepted Answer

Typically 4–6 weeks after publishing. AI engines need time to crawl your updated content. Most users see meaningful MentionShare improvement within 6 weeks.

Question 14

Where do I publish the fixes?

Accepted Answer

Add FAQ blocks to your homepage, product page, or a dedicated FAQ page. Add JSON-LD schema to your page head tag. Existing high-traffic pages see faster results than new pages.

Question 15

What is the difference between the Fix Generator and the AI SEO Audit?

Accepted Answer

The AI SEO Audit analyses your existing web pages and scores them across technical, content, and AI SEO dimensions — it identifies what is wrong with pages that already exist. The Fix Generator creates new content specifically designed to get your brand mentioned in AI answers for prompts you are currently missing from. They complement each other: use the Audit to fix existing pages, use the Fix Generator to create new content that earns AI citations.

Question 16

What is Authority Capture?

Accepted Answer

Authority Capture (Pro+) lets you feed any existing content — a URL, a podcast transcript, a product description — into TrueCite and instantly generate AEO-optimised FAQ blocks, answer paragraphs, and JSON-LD schema. Instead of starting from scan gaps, Authority Capture converts content you already have (a G2 review, a customer case study, a press mention) into publishable blocks that train AI engines to cite and recommend your brand.

Question 17

How is Authority Capture different from the Fix Generator?

Accepted Answer

The Fix Generator works backwards from your scan results — it sees which prompts your brand is missing from and writes content specifically to fill those gaps. Authority Capture works forward from content you already have — you provide the source material (a URL or transcript) and TrueCite generates three blocks (FAQ HTML, answer paragraphs, JSON-LD schema) grounded in that content. Use the Fix Generator for prompt-gap coverage and Authority Capture to repurpose high-authority third-party content like press coverage, G2 reviews, or podcast transcripts.

Question 18

How do I connect Google Analytics 4?

Accepted Answer

Go to Dashboard → AI Traffic and click "Connect Google Analytics". You'll be redirected to Google's sign-in page. If you see a warning that says "Google hasn't verified this app", click Advanced and then "Go to truecite.ai (unsafe)" — this is expected for apps in development review. Select the Google account that has Viewer access or higher to your GA4 property, then click Allow. You'll be redirected back to the AI Traffic page automatically. If you have multiple GA4 properties, you'll be prompted to choose one.

Question 19

Why does Google say the app is "unverified"?

Accepted Answer

During the Google OAuth app verification process, Google shows a warning screen for apps that haven't completed their review. TrueCite requests read-only access to your GA4 data — it cannot make any changes. To proceed: click Advanced → "Go to truecite.ai (unsafe)". This is safe — Google uses the same warning for many legitimate apps awaiting review.

Question 20

What Google account do I need to connect GA4?

Accepted Answer

You need a Google account with at least Viewer access to a GA4 property. If your Google account has no GA4 properties, you'll see a "No properties found" error. Make sure the Google account you sign in with has access to Google Analytics at analytics.google.com.

Question 21

How do I import queries from Google Search Console?

Accepted Answer

Connect your Google account in Settings under the AI Traffic tab. Then go to Prompt Library and select the Search Console tab. TrueCite shows your top 50 GSC search queries with clicks, impressions, and CTR data. Select the queries you want to track and click Import — they are added to your prompt library immediately and can be included in your next scan.

Question 22

Does TrueCite integrate with Slack?

Accepted Answer

Yes — TrueCite has native Slack integration for Starter, Pro, and Enterprise plans. Connect your Slack workspace via an incoming webhook URL in Settings → Notifications. Once connected, TrueCite sends rich Block Kit notifications directly to any Slack channel for: scan complete alerts (with mention rate and top engines), mention share drops (when your score falls week-over-week), new competitor detected alerts, and your weekly AI visibility digest.

Question 23

How do I set up Slack notifications?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → Notifications in your TrueCite dashboard. Under "Slack Notifications", paste your Slack Incoming Webhook URL (create one at api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks). Click Save, then Test Connection to send a test message to your channel. Once connected, use the Preview buttons to see sample messages for each notification type. You can enable or disable individual notification types using the toggles in the Notifications tab.

Question 24

Do you offer a demo for enterprise teams?

Accepted Answer

Yes — click "Book a Demo" on the pricing page or email sales@truecite.ai to schedule a 30-minute walkthrough. Enterprise demos include a live scan of your domain, a competitive gap analysis against your top 3 competitors, and a custom pricing discussion based on your team size and scan volume requirements.

Question 25

Is there a free trial for the Enterprise plan?

Accepted Answer

Enterprise plans are custom-scoped and do not follow the standard 7-day trial model. Instead, we offer a live demo session where we run real scans on your domain so you can see TrueCite's output before signing anything. Email sales@truecite.ai or click "Book a Demo" on the pricing page to get started.

Question 26

Can I cancel anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes — cancel anytime from Settings → Billing. You keep access until the end of your billing period.

Question 27

What payment methods do you accept?

Accepted Answer

All major credit cards via Stripe. We never store your card details.

Question 28

Do you offer annual billing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — annual billing saves approximately 20% compared to monthly. Switch anytime in Settings → Billing.

Question 29

Is there a referral program?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Share your referral link and get +10 bonus scans for each friend who signs up. New users get +20 bonus scans when they sign up via a referral link.

Question 30

Can I change my plan at any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from Settings → Billing. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period. If you downgrade below your current usage (for example, more projects than your new plan allows), TrueCite will notify you and give you time to reduce usage before the change takes effect.

Question 31

Do you offer a discount for annual billing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Annual billing saves approximately 20% compared to monthly billing. The discount is applied automatically when you select annual billing at checkout. You can switch to annual billing at any time from Settings → Billing.

Question 32

What happens when I reach my scan limit?

Accepted Answer

When you hit your monthly scan limit, new scans are blocked until your credits reset on your billing anniversary date. You can see your remaining credits on the Dashboard. You can also purchase a one-time scan top-up pack from Settings → Billing without changing your plan. Upgrading to a higher plan immediately increases your limit for the current billing period.

Question 33

Can I track multiple brands or projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes — TrueCite supports multiple businesses per account. Lite supports 1 business, Starter supports 3, Pro supports 10, and Enterprise supports 20. Use the project switcher in the sidebar to switch between brands. Each business has its own scan history, competitors, prompts, and MentionShare score.

Question 34

How is TrueCite different from traditional SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs?

Accepted Answer

Traditional SEO tools measure Google keyword rankings and backlinks. TrueCite measures a completely different channel: AI-generated answers. When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini "what is the best tool for X?", traditional SEO data tells you nothing about whether your brand gets recommended. TrueCite is purpose-built for this AI visibility layer — it tracks 9 AI engines, computes your MentionShare score, and generates the specific content changes that train AI engines to recommend you.

Question 35

Can agencies use TrueCite for client reporting?

Accepted Answer

Yes — TrueCite is built for agencies. Starter and Pro plans include multiple business workspaces and team seats. The Pro plan includes white-label PDF reports you can send directly to clients with your branding. Each client workspace is fully isolated with its own scan history and competitors.

Question 36

What is a "persona-modeled" AI engine?

Accepted Answer

Three AI engines — Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, and Google AI Overviews — do not offer a public API for third-party querying. TrueCite models these engines using trained engine personas built on Claude, calibrated to match each engine's documented behavior, typical response style, and known data sources. Results are labeled "persona-modeled" in the dashboard so you always know which scans used live APIs vs. modeled responses.

Question 37

Does TrueCite have an API?

Accepted Answer

Yes — API access is available on Enterprise plans. The TrueCite REST API covers the full platform: MentionShare scores, competitor and fix data, Authority Capture content, and AI SEO, Schema, Crawler, and LLMs.txt audit results. You can trigger scans and audits programmatically, poll their status, and subscribe to 8 webhook event types (scan.completed, mention.dropped, competitor.detected, authority.captured, and more). See the full reference at truecite.ai/api-docs. For API access on a lower plan, contact hello@truecite.ai.

Question 38

Can I export my scan data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can export scan history, competitor data, citation sources, and MentionShare trends as CSV or JSON from the Export section in your dashboard. PDF reports of scan results and AI SEO Audit findings are also available for download.

Question 39

What AI model does TrueCite use for analysis?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite uses Claude (by Anthropic) for analyzing AI engine responses, classifying brand sentiment, detecting competitors, and generating Fix Generator content. Scan results from each AI engine (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.) reflect that engine's actual response — TrueCite's analysis layer then classifies the results using Claude.

Question 40

What is AI Speedometer?

Accepted Answer

AI Speedometer is a free tool at truecite.ai/tools/ai-speedometer that checks how well your website is set up to be cited by AI engines. It runs PageSpeed Insights (mobile + desktop), AI bot access checks (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended), llms.txt presence, and raw HTML content visibility — and combines them into a single 0–100 AI Visibility Score.

Question 41

How is the AI Speedometer score calculated?

Accepted Answer

The score is a composite of two equally weighted halves: AEO subscore (50%) — the average of three binary checks: crawler access (all 4 key AI bots allowed), llms.txt present, and HTML content visible without JavaScript; and PageSpeed subscore (50%) — the average of mobile Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO, and desktop Performance from Google PageSpeed Insights.

Question 42

Is AI Speedometer free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes — AI Speedometer is completely free, no sign-up required. You can run up to 5 checks per domain per 24 hours. Each result gets a unique shareable link valid for 30 days.

Question 43

How is AI Speedometer different from Google PageSpeed Insights?

Accepted Answer

PageSpeed Insights only measures web performance for human visitors. AI Speedometer adds three AI-specific checks: whether AI bots can crawl your site (robots.txt), whether you have an llms.txt file, and whether page content is visible in raw HTML. These factors are invisible to PageSpeed but critical for whether AI engines can cite your content.

Question 44

What is llms.txt and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

llms.txt is an emerging standard that lets you provide a machine-readable summary of your website to large language models, similar to how robots.txt works for crawlers. It lives at yourdomain.com/llms.txt and helps AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity understand your site's content structure without needing to crawl every page.

Question 45

Can I share my AI Speedometer result?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every result has a unique, unlisted URL that anyone with the link can view. Results are not indexed by search engines and remain accessible for 30 days. Share the link with clients, teammates, or on social media.

Question 46

How do I improve my AI Speedometer score?

Accepted Answer

Focus on the failing checks first: (1) if AI bots are blocked, update your robots.txt to allow GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended; (2) if llms.txt is missing, create one at yourdomain.com/llms.txt; (3) if HTML content is not visible, reduce JavaScript dependency by server-rendering your key content. For the PageSpeed half, follow standard web performance best practices. TrueCite's full platform goes deeper — tracking your MentionShare across 9 AI engines and generating content fixes tailored to your scan gaps.

Question 47

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite stores all data on AWS infrastructure in the us-east-1 region (Northern Virginia, USA). Scan results, prompt libraries, and business data are stored in Supabase (PostgreSQL) hosted on AWS. No data is stored outside of North American AWS infrastructure.

Question 48

Is TrueCite GDPR compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TrueCite is designed with GDPR compliance in mind. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings. TrueCite does not sell user data to third parties and does not use your scan data to train AI models.

Question 49

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Accepted Answer

Your data remains accessible for 30 days after cancellation, allowing you to export scan history, prompts, and reports. After 30 days, all data is permanently deleted. You can export your data at any time from the Export section in your dashboard.

Question 50

Does TrueCite store my Google Analytics or Search Console data?

Accepted Answer

TrueCite uses read-only OAuth access to your Google Analytics and Search Console accounts. We store your GA4 property ID and a refresh token to maintain the connection — we do not store raw GA4 event data. You can disconnect Google integrations at any time from Settings.

Question 51

Does TrueCite use my scan data to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. TrueCite does not use your scan data, prompts, or business information to train any AI model. Your data is used exclusively to provide your TrueCite service and is never shared with third parties or used for model training.

TrueCite AEO Platform — Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about AEO & GEO

Ready to get cited by AI?

TrueCite AEO Platform — Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about AEO & GEO

Ready to get cited by AI?