Your AI citation count went up again this month. That number alone doesn't tell you if you're reaching new people, or just showing up for folks who already know your name.
TL;DR: Microsoft Clarity's AI Visibility dashboard now separates branded and non-branded AI citations, plus adds a "Share of Authority" breakdown. It's the same branded/non-branded split we've used in traditional SEO for years, finally applied to AI search.
Here's the problem. When an AI tool cites your site, you don't automatically know why. Maybe someone searched for your brand by name. Maybe the AI just decided you were the best source for a general question about your industry, and picked you without knowing your name at all.
Those are two very different outcomes. One means you're keeping the customers you already have. The other means you're winning new ones who didn't know you existed. Up until now, most AI visibility tools lumped both into one citation number.
Microsoft Clarity just fixed that. Its AI Visibility dashboard now tags individual queries as "branded" or "non-branded" inside the Citations card, so you can see exactly what someone typed or asked before an AI system pointed them to you.
The update also adds a Share of Authority card, split by query type. If most of your citations lean non-branded, AI systems are treating you as a category expert. If they lean branded, you're mostly reaching people who already found you.
You can now filter the whole dashboard by branded or non-branded data and watch that split change over time. That's the only way to tell if a citation spike was real growth in authority, or just a viral moment tied to your brand name. One caveat: the branded/non-branded label is still decided by an AI system, so it's worth spot-checking if your brand name doubles as a common word.
Open your Clarity AI Visibility dashboard and look at the Share of Authority card. See whether your citations lean branded or non-branded, and treat that ratio as your starting benchmark for the next few months.
Watch the Non-Branded Trend Over Time
Filter the Citations dashboard to non-branded queries only and check it monthly. A steady climb there means AI systems are recommending you as a category answer, not just responding to people who searched for you by name.
Spot-Check the Branded Labels
Pull a handful of queries tagged "branded" and read them yourself, especially if your brand name overlaps with an everyday word. A mislabeled query won't ruin your data, but it's worth catching before you report the numbers to a client or a boss.
Hit reply
When you check your Share of Authority split in Clarity, are you winning on non-branded queries, or mostly showing up for people who already know you?
Did You Know? Clarity's new branded/non-branded split lives inside the same AI Visibility dashboard Microsoft rolled out as part of its broader Citations experience.
Till next time,
