\nYour website cited<\/td>\n How often an answer used your own site, which is kept out of the gap lists<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\nCompetitor gap exists only if you track competitors. It points to pages where AI mentions several rivals and not you.<\/p>\n\n\n
A worked example with made-up numbers<\/h3>\n\n\n The example below uses a fictional brand, Northfold, an invoicing app for freelancers, and invented figures. Four pages were used by AI answers in the date range.<\/p>\n\n\nRead the rows from the top:<\/p>\n\n\n
\nThe listicle<\/strong> was used 18 times, does not name Northfold and names two tracked rivals. Its gap score is 18 and its competitor gap is 18 multiplied by 2, which is 36.<\/li>\n\nThe tax checklist<\/strong> was used 24 times and names nobody. Its gap score is 24, the highest in the table, and its competitor gap is 0.<\/li>\n\nThe community thread<\/strong> names Northfold, so its gap score is 0 even though it also names a rival.<\/li>\n\nThe pricing page<\/strong> could not be read, so it never counts as a gap.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\nThe two sorts give different answers. Sorting by gap score puts the tax checklist first, because AI leans on it most. Sorting by competitor gap puts the listicle first, because it names rivals in a place where you are missing. Both are useful, and they ask different questions.<\/p>\n\n\n
Where does citation gap analysis live in LiveMentions?<\/h2>\n\n\n Open Gap analysis from the Sources group in the sidebar. It has three tabs, and the tab you are on stays in the address, so a refresh or a shared link opens the same view.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nDomains<\/strong> lists websites.<\/li>\n\nURLs<\/strong> lists individual pages.<\/li>\n\nPrompts<\/strong> lists tracked questions, with one cell per engine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nThe Domains and URLs tabs share the same filters and columns. The summary strip at the top shows Answers analysed, Source uses, Your brand named and Your website cited. The filters are Models, Date range, Website type, Page type (URLs tab only), Competitors named and a search box. Columns sort when you click them.<\/p>\n\n\nThe crop shows the Domains tab sorted by gap score, with placeholder names in place of real sites. The top row is a corporate website used 154 times by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Its Brand named column reads 0%, so its gap score is 154, the same as its uses. A tracked competitor is named on pages of that site, and 29 of its 45 pages have been read.<\/p>\n\n\n
Click any row to open a panel for that site. It shows the site's type and numbers, its uses over time, the pages used with who is named on each, the kinds of pages and the questions the site helped answer. Every page in the panel links out, so you can read what the AI read.<\/p>\n\n\n
What does the Mentions column tell you?<\/h2>\n\n\n The Mentions column answers one question: does the page name you or your tracked competitors? For each page the result is one of three things.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nThe names found on the page.<\/strong> Your brand, tracked competitors or both.<\/li>\n\nCould not read.<\/strong> The page blocked the reader, was not a normal web page or was too slow. Such pages never count as gaps.<\/li>\n\nNot read yet.<\/strong> Reading happens in the background, so the column fills in over a few minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nMentions is a text match, not a judgement of tone. The tone of the sentence that names you does not change the result. Only the result is stored, not the text of the page.<\/p>\n\n\nTwo labels also help you read the list. Your own website is left out of the gap lists and counted under Your website cited. A site owned by a tracked competitor is labelled Competitor.<\/p>\n\n\n
Which gaps should you work on first?<\/h2>\n\n\n Start with the pages that combine a high gap score with a place you can realistically act. The Docs describe four moves from the list: get listed, get into a comparison article, join a relevant discussion or fix a technical issue. The type labels in Gap analysis show which move fits, as this table shows. The mapping is this guide's recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Docs also give four ready-made views of the data:<\/p>\n\n\n
\nBuild an outreach list.<\/strong> Sort Domains by gap score and filter to Editorial.<\/li>\n\nFind comparison pages.<\/strong> On the URLs tab, filter the page type to Listicle.<\/li>\n\nSee who is named instead.<\/strong> Filter Competitors named to sources that name one, two, or three or more tracked competitors on a page that does not name you.<\/li>\n\nReport to a client.<\/strong> Export CSV, XLSX or JSON, or use the PDF report, which has a Gaps section.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\nThe Open Optimize button on Gap analysis carries a gap into Optimize, where findings become actions scored by impact, confidence and effort. You mark each action in progress, done or declined. The From gap to fix guide puts the whole path in order, from the Prompts tab through Crawlability, Optimize, Competitors and reports.<\/p>\n\n\n
How is citation gap analysis different from the Sources page?<\/h2>\n\n\n The Sources page and Gap analysis read the same saved answers and answer different questions. The Sources page lists the websites that appear most often as sources across your tracked answers, each with a percentage share of total citations. It adds a full citation table with the title, URL, AI platform, whether the source was directly cited or just referenced, and the date. It answers the question of who the trusted sources in your category are.<\/p>\n\n\n
Gap analysis adds the filter that matters for action: whether the page names you, and who it names instead. A site can top the Sources page and score zero on the gap list because it already names you. The reverse is also possible. A site with a modest share of citations can carry a high gap score, because none of its uses name you.<\/p>\n\n\n
The GEO Insights<\/a> page covers both the Sources view and Gap analysis. For a longer walk through reading citations themselves, see the guide to AI citation tracking.<\/p>\n\n\nHow do you know a gap is closing?<\/h2>\n\n\n The gap score on the Domains and URLs tabs moves with the date range you choose, so compare the same range before and after an action. The Prompts tab adds a direct check. Its Gaps closed figure compares your current gaps with the period of the same length immediately before the date range, and marks each question and engine as Closed, New or Still open. The Prompts tab and Gaps closed documentation covers the details, including the Answers by week chart.<\/p>\n\n\n
Gaps closed works for date ranges up to 180 days. All time has no comparison because there is no earlier period.<\/p>\n\n\n
What does citation gap analysis not claim?<\/h2>\n\n\n Citation gap analysis has clear edges, and the Docs state them.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Citation](\"https:\/\/livementions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/P03-example.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n![\"Citation](\"https:\/\/livementions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/P03-domains-top-row.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/livementions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/P03-cards.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n![\"Table](\"https:\/\/livementions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/P03-actions.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n