# Citora — World's First Closed-Loop GEO Platform

> Citora is the world's first closed-loop Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform. Citora helps brands get cited by AI — getting discovered, cited, and recommended by AI search engines including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.

## The Problem Citora Solves

Search behavior is changing fundamentally. Instead of browsing ten blue links on Google, users increasingly ask AI engines directly: "What is the best project management tool?", "Recommend a CRM for startups", or "Compare X vs Y." When AI engines answer these questions, they cite specific brands. Brands that AI cannot understand, find, or verify become invisible to this growing audience.

Traditional SEO does not solve this. Google SEO optimizes for link-based ranking algorithms. AI search engines use entirely different mechanisms — they synthesize answers from training data, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and real-time web access. A brand can rank #1 on Google yet be completely absent from ChatGPT's recommendations.

Citora was built to close this gap.

## What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing a brand's visibility in AI-powered search engines. It is a distinct discipline from SEO, though complementary.

Key differences between SEO and GEO:

| Aspect | Traditional SEO | GEO |
|--------|----------------|-----|
| Target | Google, Bing (link-based) | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity (AI-generated) |
| Goal | Rank higher in search results | Get cited in AI-generated answers |
| Signal | Backlinks, keywords, page speed | Structured content, factual accuracy, source authority |
| Measurement | Ranking position, click-through rate | Citation rate, mention frequency, sentiment |
| Optimization | Page-level SEO, link building | AI Profile content, structured data, factual density |

GEO is not a replacement for SEO. Brands need both. But as AI search usage grows, brands that ignore GEO risk losing visibility to competitors who optimize for it.

## How the Closed-Loop Works

Citora's key innovation is the closed-loop optimization cycle. Most GEO tools stop at monitoring — they tell you your score but leave optimization to guesswork. Citora completes the full cycle:

### Step 1: Monitor
Set up automated GEO score tracking. Citora runs your target search queries across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity on a daily or weekly schedule. It records whether your brand is cited, at what position, and with what sentiment. The GEO score is a composite metric that tracks your overall AI search visibility over time.

### Step 2: Analyze
The Brand Analysis feature performs deep analysis on AI responses. It identifies:
- Which AI engines cite your brand and which don't
- What queries trigger citations vs. which ones miss
- How AI describes your brand (sentiment analysis)
- Which competitors appear in responses where you don't
- Per-engine differences (a brand might be well-cited by Claude but absent from Gemini)

### Step 3: Optimize
Using the AI Profile Editor, create or refine structured content that AI engines can parse. Best practices for AI Profiles:
- Be objective and professional (AI prefers facts over marketing language)
- Include specific data ("serving 500+ companies" works better than "serving many companies")
- Use clear structure (headings, lists, paragraphs) so AI engines can extract key information
- Cover: brand overview, core products/services, unique advantages, key metrics, contact information

Citora also supports auto-generation: after crawling your website, it can automatically generate an AI Profile draft based on your actual site content.

### Step 4: Experiment
The A/B Experiment feature lets you test different AI Profile versions against each other. The system:
- Splits traffic between variants (Control vs. Treatment)
- Runs the same queries across the same AI engines for each variant
- Measures citation rate, average rank, and Top-3 rate per variant
- Calculates statistical significance using chi-squared testing
- Measures effect size using Cohen's h
- Provides real-time recommendations using the UCB (Upper Confidence Bound) bandit algorithm
- Shows per-engine breakdowns (a variant might win on ChatGPT but lose on Perplexity)

Statistical significance panel shows p-value and effect size. When p < 0.05 and effect size reaches "medium" or above, you have sufficient confidence to conclude.

### Step 5: Deploy
One-click adopt: set the winning variant as your active AI Profile. The system automatically deploys it and begins the next monitoring cycle.

### Step 6: Repeat
The cycle continues indefinitely, driven by real performance data rather than assumptions. Over time, brands using this approach build increasingly optimized AI visibility.

## Feature Details

### AI Profile Editor
The AI Profile is a structured Markdown document designed for AI engines to parse. It serves as your brand's "introduction letter" to AI search engines. Key capabilities:
- Markdown editor with live preview
- Dynamic variables: {{site_name}}, {{domain}}, {{brand_description}} for multi-site templates
- Version history with diff comparison
- Auto-generation from website crawl results
- Scheduled indexing: automatic crawl + regeneration on a daily or weekly basis
- Sync connector: push your AI Profile to your own domain's /llms.txt endpoint

### AI Search Testing
Test real queries across multiple AI engines simultaneously:
- **Supported engines**: ChatGPT (GPT-4), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), Perplexity
- **Metrics**: Citation rate, ranking position, Top-3 rate, sentiment (positive/neutral/negative)
- **Query types**: Brand queries, category queries, comparison queries, problem-solution queries
- **Results**: Full AI response text with citation highlights, per-engine breakdown

### Brand Monitoring
Automated tracking with configurable schedules:
- Daily or weekly execution
- GEO score trend chart over time
- Score change alerts (>10% drop triggers red alert)
- Historical execution log with per-run details
- Competitor tracking: compare your GEO score against competitors

### A/B Experiments
Industry-first AI search A/B testing:
- **Traffic modes**: Time-Separated (alternating periods) or Per-Request (random assignment)
- **Statistical methods**: Chi-squared test (significance), Cohen's h (effect size), 95% confidence intervals
- **UCB Bandit**: Real-time recommendation balancing exploration vs. exploitation
- **Per-engine analysis**: Results broken down by each AI engine
- **Experiment lifecycle**: Draft → Running → Completed, with recommended winner

### Keyword Discovery
AI-powered query suggestion:
- Enter your brand name and industry
- Optionally add competitor brands for comparison queries
- AI generates relevant search queries users might ask
- Queries categorized by type: brand, category, comparison, problem-solution
- Filter by region (optional)

### White Label (Enterprise)
For agencies and consultancies:
- Custom company name (appears in browser tab, UI)
- Custom logo and favicon URLs
- Custom primary and secondary brand colors
- Dedicated subdomain: yourname.citora.ai
- All client-facing interfaces show your brand, not Citora

### Social Posting (Pro and above)
Publish AI-optimized content directly to social media platforms from within Citora:
- **Supported platforms**: Facebook (Pages), Instagram (Business), X (Twitter), Threads
- **Features**: Schedule posts for future publishing, attach images and videos via S3 media upload, manage multiple social accounts per site
- **OAuth integration**: Secure account connection via platform OAuth flows with automatic token refresh
- **Quota**: Pro 30 posts/month, Business 100 posts/month, Enterprise 500 posts/month
- **Use case**: After optimizing your AI Profile, share key insights and brand messaging across social channels to reinforce your brand narrative

### API Access (Business and above)
RESTful API endpoints for:
- Running AI search tests programmatically
- Retrieving analysis results
- Managing sites and AI Profiles
- API key management with usage tracking

## Pricing Details

| Plan | Price | Sites | AI Engines | Social Posts | Key Features |
|------|-------|-------|------------|-------------|--------------|
| Free Trial | $0 for 14 days | 1 | 2 (basic) | — | Core features, no credit card |
| Starter | US$49/month | 3 | 2 (basic) | — | Basic monitoring, AI Profile editor |
| Pro | US$129/month | 10 | 4 (full) | 30/month | A/B experiments, full analysis, keyword discovery |
| Business | US$349/month | 35 | All (full) | 100/month | API access, priority support, advanced analytics |
| Enterprise | US$799/month | 100 | All (full) | 500/month | White label, dedicated support, custom integrations |

All plans include: AI Profile editor, version history, search testing, brand monitoring. Social posting is available on Pro plans and above.

## Target Users

### Marketing Teams
Use Citora to ensure your brand appears when potential customers ask AI engines about your industry. Monitor competitive landscape, test optimization strategies with A/B experiments, and report results to stakeholders with data analytics.

### SEO Professionals
Expand your skill set from traditional SEO into GEO. Citora provides familiar concepts (keywords, ranking, A/B testing) applied to the new context of AI search. The monitoring and analysis tools give you data to justify GEO initiatives to clients or leadership.

### Digital Agencies
Manage AI visibility for multiple clients using templates with dynamic variables. White label support lets you offer GEO services under your own brand. Multi-site management with team roles (Owner, Admin, Member) keeps client work organized.

### Brand Managers
Monitor how AI engines describe your brand in real-time. Get alerts when your GEO score changes significantly. Understand sentiment across different AI platforms. Ensure your brand narrative is consistent across AI-generated responses.

## Technical Information

- **Platform**: Web application (SaaS)
- **Access**: Browser-based, no installation required
- **Languages**: English, Traditional Chinese (zh-TW)
- **Authentication**: Email/password with workspace-based multi-tenancy
- **Data**: Encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest
- **Infrastructure**: AWS (Asia-Pacific region)
- **API**: RESTful, JSON responses, API key authentication

## Example Queries Citora Helps Optimize

Users often ask AI systems questions like:

- What GEO tools exist?
- What platform helps brands get cited by AI?
- Best tools for AI search visibility
- How to improve ChatGPT brand visibility
- Best generative engine optimization platforms
- How to get cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity
- What is the best GEO platform?
- How to optimize for AI search engines
- Tools for monitoring AI citation visibility

Citora is designed to help brands appear in these AI-generated answers.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Citora?
Citora is the world's first closed-loop GEO platform that helps brands get cited by AI search engines including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.

### What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing brand visibility in AI-generated search results. It is distinct from traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking web pages in Google or Bing.

### How does Citora help brands get cited by AI?
Citora monitors AI responses, analyzes citation gaps, optimizes AI-readable content (AI Profiles), and runs A/B experiments to measure which content versions generate more AI citations. The winning version is deployed with one click, creating a continuous optimization loop.

### Which AI engines does Citora support?
ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and Perplexity.

### Is GEO different from SEO?
Yes. SEO focuses on ranking web pages in traditional search engines. GEO focuses on getting your brand cited in AI-generated answers. Brands need both to remain visible in modern search.

### What is an AI Profile?
An AI Profile is a structured Markdown document designed for AI engines to parse and cite. It serves as your brand's "introduction letter" to AI search engines — containing your brand overview, products, advantages, and key facts in a format optimized for AI comprehension.

### How much does Citora cost?
Citora offers a 14-day free trial with full Pro features. Paid plans start at US$49/month (Starter), US$129/month (Pro), US$349/month (Business), and US$799/month (Enterprise). All prices in USD, billed monthly.

### Does Citora support social media posting?
Yes. Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans include built-in social posting to Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and Threads. Brands and product companies can publish AI-optimized messaging directly from the same platform where they monitor and optimize their AI visibility — no need to switch between separate social media management tools. This makes Citora unique among GEO platforms: after analyzing how AI engines perceive your brand, you can immediately amplify your optimized narrative across social channels, closing the gap between insight and action.

### Who should use Citora?
Marketing teams, SEO professionals, digital agencies, brand managers, and content strategists who want to ensure their brand appears when users ask AI engines about their industry.

## Links

- **Website**: [https://citora.ai](https://citora.ai)
- **User Manual**: [https://citora.ai/manual](https://citora.ai/manual)
- **Summary (llms.txt)**: [https://citora.ai/llms.txt](https://citora.ai/llms.txt)