Built by people who
live inside the data.
And question everything.
Citation Rate was born from a research question: what does AI actually say about a brand — and why? The answer required building new frameworks, not adapting old ones.
A methodology born
in academic research.
Citation Rate started as a research question within an academic AI research environment — where Andrea Testa leads the development of AI systems connected to search engines, across three universities where he teaches Digital Marketing.
The core insight was simple but structurally disruptive: AI-generated responses are not search results. They are citations. And citations follow different rules than rankings.
The methodology developed from that premise – the Citability Score, the AI Visibility Index, the Mismatch Index – are the result of months of research, testing and fieldwork. Citation Rate is the platform that makes that methodology operational for brands and agencies.
The people behind
the methodology.
Researcher and specialist in AI prompt engineering and human-machine interaction. Academic background in communication and digital marketing. Active in research projects on generative AI, conversational interaction and ethical chatbot design. Expert in linguistic optimization for AI-readability – ensuring human content is also processable by AI systems. Co-author of AI Marketing & How to Get Cited by AI: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Contemporary Marketing and How to Improve the Dialogue with This New "Channel" (Amazon, 2026). Co-developer of the PNX model with Andrea Testa.
Digital marketing consultant since 1993. The only Diamond Google Ads Product Expert in Italy – one of approximately 20 worldwide. Professor of Digital Marketing at IULM University in Milan and CIELS (Brescia and Bologna). Head of AI-search systems development at IULM AI Lab. Author of books on digital marketing (Hoepli, EPC, Amazon). Originator of the Citation Rate methodology and the PNX and LEAF analytical models. Winner of 9 awards at international Google Ads Summits.
Researchers, strategists
and specialists.
AI Marketing & How to Get Cited by AI: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Contemporary Marketing and How to Improve the Dialogue with This New "Channel"
The theoretical foundation of Citation Rate – published on Amazon Italy in March 2026. Co-authored by Andrea Testa and Serena Dal Bosco.
Read on Amazon →