> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.zued.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Selection Rate

> When AI engines retrieve your domain, how often do they actually cite it in the response?

**Selection Rate** measures the gap between being found and being chosen. It answers: when an AI engine retrieves your domain as a candidate source, how often does it end up in the final response?

## How it's calculated

Of the responses where an engine retrieved your domain as a candidate source, Selection Rate is the share that ended up actually citing it:

* **[Sources](/metrics/signals#sources-search-results)** — the responses where your domain appeared in the engine's retrieval pool (the pages it considered)
* **[Citations](/metrics/signals#citations)** — of those, the responses where your domain was actually cited in the answer

Because it's measured per response rather than by counting raw mentions, Selection Rate always stays between 0 and 100%.

## What it tells you

A low Selection Rate means AI engines are finding your content but choosing competitor content instead. The most common cause is a low [Alignment Score](/metrics/alignment-score) — your content is present but not structured well enough for the engine to cite confidently.

| Rate | Signal                                                                                    |
| :--: | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| High | Your content is retrieved and selected — a strong signal of content quality and alignment |
|  Low | Your content is retrieved but skipped — alignment or content depth is likely the issue    |

## How it differs from Citation Share

[Citation Share](/metrics/citation-share) measures your citation share across all citations. Selection Rate is scoped to your own retrieval appearances — it isolates the question of *why* you're not being cited when you do show up.

<Info>
  Selection Rate is a secondary metric. Use it alongside Alignment Score to diagnose why citations are lower than expected.
</Info>