AI Overview Report for "What is an API?"

Comprehensive analysis of AI Overview performance, volatility, and citation patterns

Last Updated: Aug 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM

Volatility Score

4.73/10

Medium

AI Trust Score

N/A

Answer Format

Quote

Total Citations

46

All snapshots combined

Ghost Citation Alert

This keyword has a significant number of "Ghost Citations" - sources that are cited in AI Overview but don't appear in the first 100 organic search results.

23
Lifetime Ghost Citations
Out of 46 total
50.0%
Ghost Citation Rate
Across all snapshots

What this means: These sources have strong topical authority that Google's AI recognizes, but they may not be optimizing for traditional SEO metrics. This presents both opportunities and challenges for content strategy.

Top 3 Cited Sources

The most prominently featured sources in AI Overview for this keyword

#1
ibm.com

What Is an API (Application Programming Interface)? - IBM

ibm.com

4
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

588
Total Citations
All Keywords
#6.6
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
73
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
12.4%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source
#1
mulesoft.com

What is an API? (Application Programming Interface) | MuleSoft

mulesoft.com

3
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

15
Total Citations
All Keywords
#14.1
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
0
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
0.0%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source
#2
aws.amazon.com

What is an API? - Application Programming Interfaces Explained

aws.amazon.com

3
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

422
Total Citations
All Keywords
#6.7
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
32
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
7.6%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source

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