Source mix
Source categories behind AI answers
Source mix shows the types of sources behind prompt answers. It helps you see whether AI relies on your site, competitors, reviews, editorial pages, social pages, UGC, or reference sites.
Owned pages
Owned pages are your pages.
Competitor pages
Competitor pages are pages from brands that compete with you.
Third-party validation
Third-party validation includes reviews, editorial pages, reference pages, and community pages.
Source mix
Source mix shows the types of pages AI answers read before naming brands or explaining a topic.
Healthy versus risky source mix
A healthy mix depends on your market. Too little owned-page reading can be a problem. Too much competitor support can also be a problem.
Do not force a perfect mix. Some categories naturally depend on reviews. Some depend on official docs. Some depend on community answers.
Source mix and mention outcomes
Compare source mix with mentions. The key question is which source types lead to your brand being named.
| Source type | Typical question |
|---|---|
| Your site | Are our own pages being read? |
| Competitor | Are rival pages shaping the answer? |
| Reviews | Do review sites support or ignore us? |
| Editorial | Do articles and lists mention us fairly? |
| UGC or Social | Are community signals shaping the answer? |
| Reference | Does neutral background context matter here? |
Content actions from source imbalance
If the mix is weak, CLEA can suggest page work, proof work, or source review.