Citations vs sources cited
Two numbers that look similar but mean different things.
These two terms are easy to confuse, so here is the precise difference.
Citations (your brand)
A citation is a time an AI engine cited your brand in its answer. This is the number that matters for your visibility. You will see it on the scan result ("X of 45 possible citations") and on the citations-over-time chart. When we say "citations" anywhere in the app, we mean your brand.
Sources cited (everyone)
Sources cited is the total number of source URLs the engines cited across your responses, yours and everyone else's. A high number means your category gets cited heavily, which is opportunity, but most of those sources are competitors and third parties, not you. The Overview card shows this as "Sources cited" with a per-engine split.
The quick test
If a number sits next to "Brand appearances" and is large while you are barely cited, it is sources cited (the whole universe), not your citations.