What is the Citation Probability Score®?

The Citation Probability Score® (CPS®) is a proprietary 0–100 metric that measures how likely an AI model is to retrieve and cite a specific page on your website. Every page on a client's site gets a grade (A–F) and a set of specific rewrite recommendations. It's exclusive to Cited By AI® and not available in any other ASEO tool.

Why per-page scoring matters

Most AI visibility tools measure brand-level Share of Voice. CPS® works at the page level. That distinction matters because AI platforms don't cite brands. They cite specific content blocks. A brand can have 40% overall SOV and still have 80% of its pages scoring below a C. The brand-level number hides the structural problem. CPS® surfaces it.

CPS® is a registered trademark of Cited By AI®. No other ASEO product or tool offers it.

The five scoring pillars

CPS® is calculated across five weighted pillars. Each pillar addresses a distinct factor that influences whether AI platforms retrieve and cite a content block:

1. Content Structure

Measures whether content blocks are in the optimal length range for AI retrieval, open with a direct-answer sentence, and follow the Citable Chunk rule. It's the highest-weight pillar. AI models retrieve content in isolation. A poorly structured page is never cited, regardless of how good the underlying information is.

2. Fact Density

Counts statistics, percentages, years, proper nouns, and named entities per 100 words. AI citation systems weight fact-rich passages significantly higher than generic descriptive text. The target is at least 3 verifiable signals per 100 words.

3. Answer Structure

Detects whether each content block opens with a declarative, direct-answer pattern. AI retrieval systems favour content that self-answers the implied query. Blocks starting with "Welcome to" or "We are" score near zero on this pillar.

4. Self-Containment

Identifies context-dependent language: dangling pronouns, references to images or previous sections, and content that requires surrounding context to make sense. AI systems extract blocks in isolation. If a block requires the paragraph before it to make sense, it won't be cited.

5. Freshness Signals

Detects date references, "as of [year]" markers, and recency language. Freshness signals increase AI citation confidence, especially on Perplexity and Bing-powered platforms. Pages with no date signal get treated as potentially stale.

CPS® grade tiers

How CPS® is used in the audit

Every page on a client's site gets a CPS® score. Pages below a B get specific rewrite recommendations: which pillar is dragging the score, what the content currently does wrong, and what the rewrite should do instead. The AEO Content Writer then generates a citability-scored replacement block for every high-priority gap.