Retrieval Confidence Score

Extended definition

Retrieval Confidence Score measures the probability that your content enters an AI system's consideration set when processing relevant queries, even if it doesn't always get cited in final answers. High retrieval confidence means your content consistently gets pulled into the AI's context; low confidence means it's frequently overlooked during initial retrieval. This differs from citation rate because content can be retrieved but not cited (cited sources beat you in the ranking step), or not retrieved at all (invisible to the system). Retrieval confidence indicates findability and relevance matching strength.

Why this matters for AI search visibility

You can't be cited if you're never retrieved. Retrieval Confidence reveals whether visibility problems stem from retrieval failure (content isn't being found) or ranking failure (content is found but not selected for citation). Low retrieval confidence suggests technical problems: poor entity recognition, weak topic signals, inadequate structured data, or authority gaps. High retrieval with low citation suggests content quality issues: not authoritative enough, not well-formatted, or outcompeted by better sources. Diagnosing retrieval vs. citation issues focuses optimization efforts correctly.

Practical examples

• Brand has 89% retrieval confidence but only 31% citation rate, indicating strong findability but weak competitive positioning once retrieved
• Improving schema markup increases retrieval confidence from 42% to 78%, though citation rate remains constant
• Competitor with lower domain authority but higher retrieval confidence (91% vs 76%) outperforms due to better entity recognition