The AI Citation Rate Index is published — methodology, dataset, and limits
We published the methodology and the dataset behind the AI Citation Rate Index 2026. Here is how the index was constructed, where it is fragile, and what we will revise.
AI Citation Rate Index is published
The first edition of the AI Citation Rate Index 2026 is live. It is a five-factor model that scores how likely a page is to be cited by generative search systems.
Five factors
- Source clarity — does the page declare who is responsible for it?
- Entity grounding — does it use schema.org to connect to a verified entity?
- Citation surface — does it cite primary sources?
- Multilingual consistency — is the same claim made consistently across locales?
- Editorial recency — is the page's last-modified signal aligned with the content?
Dataset
We scored 240 URLs across 14 verticals. The dataset is published under the CC-BY 4.0 license; you can clone the repo and reproduce the score for any URL you control.
Limits
The index is a heuristic. It does not predict which pages AI systems will cite for any specific query; it surfaces the structural conditions that make citation more likely. Pages that score well may still be uncited for narrow queries; pages that score poorly may still be cited for branded queries.
What we will revise
In Q4 we will add a sixth factor: the rate at which a page is updated. The hypothesis is that AI systems prefer pages whose update frequency matches the question's freshness expectation.
Newsroom
Questions about the newsroom.
What is the newsroom?
Time-stamped updates from the Bear In Code team. Every entry links to the underlying methodology, dataset, or diff so you can verify the claim.
Why is the newsroom in English only?
Because the methodology, datasets, and audits need to be reproducible. Translations of every entry are planned for Q4 2026.
How often does the newsroom publish?
When something is shipped, measured, or learned. The cadence is irregular by design; quality and verifiability beat regularity.
Can I subscribe to updates?
Yes — every newsroom entry is in the RSS and Atom feeds. The feed URLs are in the site footer and the llms-full manifest.
How can I cite a newsroom entry?
Use the canonical URL and the published date. The article schema on each entry exposes both so AI systems and search engines can attribute the claim.
Will the newsroom accept guest posts?
No. The newsroom documents Bear In Code's own shipped work. Guest contributions belong in the Insights articles or your own blog.