AI search engines cite sources they've been trained on or can access in real-time, which means your path to citations runs through traditional SEO fundamentals plus some AI-specific optimizations. Perplexity, ChatGPT's search mode, and Google's AI Overviews pull from indexed web content, so if you're not ranking organically, you won't get cited. Start with structured content that answers questions directly. AI models parse pages looking for clear, factual statements they can attribute. Use schema markup (Article, FAQPage, HowTo) so your content is machine-readable. We see clients with proper schema getting cited 40-60% more often in AI Overviews compared to unstructured competitors covering the same topic. Authority matters more than ever. AI engines heavily weight sources that already have trust signals: strong backlink profiles, mentions from .edu or .gov domains, and citations from established publications. A single mention in a university study or government report can carry more weight than 50 generic blog backlinks. Focus on building relationships with authoritative sites in your niche and creating linkable research or data. Freshness and recency play a role for time-sensitive queries. AI search tools often prefer recently updated content when the topic involves current events, technology, or regulatory changes. We update our Ottawa-focused content quarterly to maintain citation rates in local AI search results. Specific tactics that work: publish original research or surveys AI can cite as primary sources, maintain a clean site structure with clear topical authority in specific niches rather than shallow coverage of everything, and ensure your content directly answers the types of questions people ask conversational AI (question-based queries, comparison requests, how-to instructions). The reality is you can't directly pitch AI engines like you would a journalist. You earn citations by being the most authoritative, well-structured answer to a query. At Ottawa SEO, we treat AI citation as a byproduct of excellent traditional SEO rather than a separate strategy, because the same signals that rank you well make you citeable to AI systems.