$npx -y skills add zubair-trabzada/geo-seo-claude --skill geo-citabilityAI citability scoring and optimization. Analyzes web page content to determine how likely AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) are to cite or quote passages from the page. Provides a citability score (0-100) with specific rewrite suggestions.
| 1 | # AI Citability Scoring Skill |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ## Core Insight |
| 4 | |
| 5 | AI language models cite passages that meet specific structural criteria. Research from Princeton, Georgia Tech, and IIT Delhi (2024) found that GEO-optimized content achieves 30-115% higher visibility in AI-generated responses. The key finding: AI systems preferentially extract and cite passages that are **134-167 words long**, **self-contained** (understandable without surrounding context), **fact-rich** (containing specific statistics, dates, or named entities), and **directly answer a question** in the first 1-2 sentences. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | This is fundamentally different from traditional SEO copywriting, which optimizes for keyword density and user engagement metrics. GEO citability optimizes for **extractability** -- the ease with which an AI system can pull a passage from your content and present it as a direct answer. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | --- |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ## Citability Scoring Rubric (0-100) |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ### Category 1: Answer Block Quality (30% of total score) |
| 14 | |
| 15 | This measures whether content contains clear, quotable answer passages that AI systems can extract verbatim. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | **Scoring Criteria:** |
| 18 | |
| 19 | | Score | Criteria | |
| 20 | |---|---| |
| 21 | | **90-100** | Every major section opens with a 1-2 sentence direct answer. Uses "X is..." or "X refers to..." patterns. First 40-60 words of each section can stand alone as a complete answer. | |
| 22 | | **70-89** | Most sections have clear answer openings. Some definition patterns present. Answers are identifiable but may need minor context. | |
| 23 | | **50-69** | Some sections have answer-like openings but many bury the answer in the middle or end of paragraphs. Few explicit definition patterns. | |
| 24 | | **30-49** | Answers are generally buried in long paragraphs. No consistent definition patterns. Content is narrative-driven rather than answer-driven. | |
| 25 | | **0-29** | No identifiable answer blocks. Content is entirely narrative, conversational, or fragmented. AI would struggle to extract any quotable passage. | |
| 26 | |
| 27 | **What to look for:** |
| 28 | |
| 29 | - **Definition patterns:** "X is [definition]." / "X refers to [explanation]." / "X means [meaning]." |
| 30 | - **Answer-first structure:** The answer appears in the first sentence, followed by supporting detail. |
| 31 | - **Quantified answers:** "The average cost of X is $Y" rather than "Many factors affect the cost of X." |
| 32 | - **Comparison answers:** "X differs from Y in three ways: [list]" rather than "X and Y are often confused." |
| 33 | |
| 34 | **High-citability example:** |
| 35 | ``` |
| 36 | Content delivery networks (CDNs) are distributed server systems that cache and serve |
| 37 | web content from locations geographically close to end users. A CDN reduces latency |
| 38 | by 50-70% on average by serving assets from edge servers rather than a single origin |
| 39 | server. The three largest CDN providers as of 2025 are Cloudflare (serving approximately |
| 40 | 20% of all websites), Amazon CloudFront, and Akamai Technologies. |
| 41 | ``` |
| 42 | Word count: 58. Self-contained: Yes. Facts: 3 specific data points. Definition pattern: Yes. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | **Low-citability example:** |
| 45 | ``` |
| 46 | If you've ever wondered why some websites load faster than others, the answer might |
| 47 | surprise you. There's this amazing technology that has been around for a while now. |
| 48 | It's changed the way we think about web performance. Let me explain how it works and |
| 49 | why you should care about it for your business. |
| 50 | ``` |
| 51 | Word count: 52. Self-contained: No (no topic identified). Facts: 0. Definition pattern: No. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | --- |
| 54 | |
| 55 | ### Category 2: Passage Self-Containment (25% of total score) |
| 56 | |
| 57 | This measures whether individual passages can be extracted and understood without needing the surrounding content. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | **Scoring Criteria:** |
| 60 | |
| 61 | | Score | Criteria | |
| 62 | |---|---| |
| 63 | | **90-100** | 80%+ of content blocks are fully self-contained. Each passage names its subject explicitly. No reliance on pronouns referencing earlier content. Contains specific facts within the passage. | |
| 64 | | **70-89** | 60-79% of content blocks are self-contained. Most passages name their subject. Occasional pronoun references that require context. | |
| 65 | | **50-69** | 40-59% of content blocks are self-contained. Mixed use of explicit subjects and pronouns. Some passages require reading prior sections. | |
| 66 | | **30-49** | 20-39% of content blocks are self-contained. Heavy reliance on pronouns and contextual references. Most passages need surrounding text. | |
| 67 | | **0-29** | Under 20% self-contained. Content reads as a continuous narrative where extracting any paragraph loses meaning. | |
| 68 | |
| 69 | **Self-containment checklist for each passage:** |
| 70 | |
| 71 | 1. Does the passage explicitly name the subject (not "it," "this," "they")? |
| 72 | 2. Can someone understand the main point reading ONLY this passage? |
| 73 | 3. Does the passage contain at least one specific fact, s |