AI Overview Report for "What is an API?"

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

Last Updated: Sep 06, 2025 at 1:09 AM

Volatility Score

5.13/10

Medium

AI Trust Score

N/A

Answer Format

Paragraph

Total Citations

86

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.

35
Lifetime Ghost Citations
Out of 86 total
40.7%
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

11
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

1241
Total Citations
All Keywords
#5.7
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
98
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
7.9%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source
#1
akamai.com

How Do APIs Work? | What Is an API? - Akamai

akamai.com

8
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

138
Total Citations
All Keywords
#18.3
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
50
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
36.2%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source
#1
postman.com

What is an API? A Beginner's Guide to APIs - Postman

postman.com

7
Citations for "What is an API?"

Page Performance Across All Keywords ℹ️

7
Total Citations
All Keywords
#7.3
Avg Citation Rank
In AI Overview
0
Ghost Citations
All Keywords
0.0%
Ghost Rate
All Keywords
View Source

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