How does Perplexity choose which pages to cite?
It retrieves live results and cites the specific passages that most directly answer the question asked.
Perplexity is retrieval-first: nearly every answer is assembled from pages fetched at query time, with visible citations. That makes it the most immediately responsive of the major assistants to on-page changes.
Because citations are passage-level, structure decides a lot. A page where each section answers one question completely gives many citable units. A flowing essay gives few.
Specificity wins. Concrete numbers, dated statements, and precise claims get cited more than general commentary, because they add something to the answer.
Freshness also counts for anything time-sensitive. Visible dates and genuine updates help on topics where recency matters.
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