AI engines recommend brands they can describe clearly and verify elsewhere. Here is the practical work that makes your brand one of them, engine by engine.
A mention is your brand named in an AI answer. A citation is your URL listed as a source. They are separate outcomes, and each one calls for different work.
AI assistants cite a small, repeatable set of sources for any given question. Here is what determines whether a page makes that set, and what to change if yours doesn't.
Getting mentioned in an AI answer and getting cited as its source are different achievements. Here is the work that moves each, in the order that pays.