Define the evidence

Define a verified citation as an observed response that explicitly references a specific publication page in a way you can inspect. Open the source link and confirm that it points to the intended article, then check whether the response uses the article accurately. A brand mention without a source link is a different observation. A citation to another website discussing your brand is also different from a citation to your publication.

Make it operational

Record the service, date, exact prompt, relevant response excerpt and destination URL. Note visible context such as language, location setting or whether the test was signed in, where appropriate. Preserve enough evidence to reproduce or review the observation without retaining unnecessary personal conversation data. Report the finding as an observation from that test, not a guarantee that every user receives the same answer. AI responses can vary, so repeated checks should use a documented method and honest counts.

Imagine this

Hypothetical example

A researcher asks an AI service a practical question and sees a source link to the journal’s document-sharing guide. They open the link, confirm the article and save the prompt and response evidence. The dashboard records one observed citation, not an estimated number of unseen users influenced by it.

Make it practical.

Use this checklist as you read. Checks are not stored.

References & further reading

Further reading: Google AI features and websites ↗

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