ai-answer-trace

# AI Answer Trace ## Overview Ask the major AI engines a question exactly the way a real user would, with their live web search on, and capture the complete evidence trail behind each answer, not just the answer text. Every trace records three layers: the answer, the search queries the engine silently ran with the pages each search retrieved, and the URLs the answer actually cited (with the character spans they support, where the API provides them). This is the raw material of GEO: knowing not only what the engines say, but which sources made them say it. ## When to Use Activate when the user asks: - "What does ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini say about [TOPIC], and what sources does it use?" - "Trace the answer to [QUESTION] across AI engines" - "Which sites do AI engines cite for [PROMPT]?" - "Why do AI assistants recommend [COMPETITOR] instead of us?" - "Check my brand's AI citations for [QUESTION]" - Any GEO measurement where you need the cited sources behind AI answers ## Setup The core of this skill needs AI engine API keys, not an xpoz account. Set whichever of these you have; each engine's script runs independently, so one key is enough to start: - `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` for Claude - `OPENAI_API_KEY` for ChatGPT - `GEMINI_API_KEY` for Gemini (or Vertex AI credentials: `GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS` + `VERTEX_PROJECT_ID`) The scripts below are self-contained single files with inline dependency metadata (PEP 723). The easiest way to run them is [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/u...