Japanese prompts increased the share of Japanese sources
In a study conducted in Japan, asking questions in Japanese increased the share of citations to Japanese-language pages compared with asking in English. Weglot found that Japanese pages accounted for 1.3% of citations for English prompts and about 35% for Japanese prompts.
To reach readers through AI search, investigate cited pages using the language your audience uses. If you are expanding an English-language site into Japan, ask questions in Japanese to find the pages cited for product comparisons and implementation advice.
Your article may be cited in one language while a competitor's page is selected in another. Comparing those sources with your own content helps you choose articles to translate and identify missing information, such as local pricing or customer examples.
Japanese pages accounted for about 35% of citations for Japanese prompts
Weglot tested 400 questions in English and local languages across five countries, including Japan, analyzing more than 16,000 answers. In Japan, it compared GPT 5.5, Claude Haiku 4.5, Gemini Flash 3.5, and Google AI Overviews. Questions covered ecommerce, SaaS, general knowledge, global news, and tutorials.
Asking the same questions in Japan produced the following results.
| Prompt language | Japanese pages as a share of all citations |
|---|---|
| English | 1.3% |
| Japanese | About 35% |
The denominator is all citations returned for each prompt-language group. Weglot counted Japanese sources using .jp domains and sources such as Japanese Wikipedia. The comparison shows a higher share of Japanese-language sources for Japanese prompts; it measures a difference between prompt languages rather than a change following website translation. (Weglot's language and country comparison)
These are aggregate results across multiple AI systems in Japan. The report was updated on September 8, 2026, and its published text does not specify the collection period or the full method for classifying Japanese pages. Investigate citations in your own industry for each AI service you use.
Britannica received 216 citations in English and 42 in Japanese
In a separate experiment, translation provider Weglot compared Wikipedia-derived questions in English, French, Spanish, and Japanese. It submitted 750 prompts to Claude Haiku 4.5, Gemini 3.1 Flash, and GPT 5.4 Mini, analyzing 2,250 responses.
For the same Japan-related topics, citations to the predominantly English-language encyclopedia Britannica differed by prompt language.
| Prompt language | Citations to Britannica |
|---|---|
| English | 216 |
| Japanese | 42 |
Using the 216 English-prompt citations as the baseline, Japanese prompts produced about 80.6% fewer citations to Britannica. Japanese responses also cited sources including Japan's National Diet Library, NHK, and Studio Ghibli's official site. (Weglot's multilingual citation experiment)
The three models were instructed to include source URLs in their answers. The report was updated on August 11, 2026; its published text does not specify the collection period or execution location. The findings concern Wikipedia-derived topics, with product recommendations and commercial queries outside the scope of this comparison.
English sources still appear in Japanese answers
Japanese prompts increased the share of Japanese sources, while English sources continued to appear. Britannica's 42 citations illustrate that overlap. Include cited English-language material when researching sources for Japanese answers.
Alongside the site name, record the language of the cited page's main content. A domain may host both Japanese and English versions, so domain-level counts alone cannot tell you which version supplied the information.
Both language and location matter when comparing citations
AI search analytics provider Profound analyzed 3.25 billion citations from March 2026 and published its findings on April 21, 2026. It selected local-language prompts across 14 countries, including Japan, comparing ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity.
The mix of cited sources varied across language-market combinations and AI services. Because the study compares Japanese prompts in Japan with English prompts in countries such as the US, language and location change together. That design supports comparisons between markets; isolating the effect of prompt language requires a different comparison. (Profound's language and market analysis)
Record prompt language and search location in your own research. To compare Japanese and English, keep location and AI service consistent. To investigate a market abroad, use the expressions and location settings relevant to its readers. Even for English queries, record whether the search was conducted in Japan or the US rather than treating the results as interchangeable.
Research competitor citations in your audience's language
Choose questions that reflect decisions your customers actually face. Use the product terminology and descriptions of everyday work that people use in each market. A grammatically correct translation can still differ from the language buyers use when searching for a product.
For a CRM, questions might concern running a small sales team or migrating customer records from spreadsheets. When comparing prompt languages, keep the team size, use case, and country of use consistent.
Record whether your brand and competitors are mentioned, which URLs are cited, and what information those pages provide. Repeat the same questions and compare pages that appear across multiple answers rather than drawing conclusions from a single response.
Track brand mentions and citations to your own pages separately. An answer in one language might cite your website, while another cites a third-party review. Open each cited URL to understand which information supports the answer.
Our guide to measuring AI search visibility explains how to select questions and define the metrics you track.
Choose articles to translate and add local pricing and examples
Comparing citations across languages with your own site reveals both content worth translating and gaps in existing translations. If an English article is cited, investigate whether readers in another language have the same question. If a translated version already exists, compare its coverage of pricing, setup, and other practical details with the cited sources.
| Gap between cited sources and your site | Content change to consider |
|---|---|
| Your English site has a detailed implementation guide but no Japanese version | Publish the relevant instructions in Japanese |
| Local competitors explain pricing and customer examples for that country | Add current local pricing and examples to the corresponding page |
| Japanese answers cite official specifications in English | Explain the relevant specifications in Japanese and link to the official documentation |
Check proposed additions against questions that customers in that country ask sales and support. Describe what you actually offer in that market, including features, pricing, contracts, and support. For example, expanding into Japan requires more than a Japanese translation of an English pricing table: explain accepted currencies, plans available to Japanese customers, and support hours. Include team size and workflows in customer stories so readers can compare them with their own operations.
After publication, repeat the same questions and track which language version of your URL is cited. Establishing whether translation caused a change requires evidence beyond the timing of publication and subsequent citations.
Publish each language version at its own URL
Give translated articles their own URLs. Google recommends separate URLs for each language, hreflang annotations to identify corresponding language versions, and links that let visitors switch languages. It also explains that it determines a page's language from its visible content. (Google's multilingual site guidance)
Translate headings, pricing tables, and chart notes alongside the main text. When specifications or prices change, update the corresponding language versions as well.
These settings help Google discover language versions and help readers reach the appropriate content. Measure AI citations separately by checking each service's answers after publication.
Find gaps in translated articles with Please Cite Me!
In the Japan study, Japanese prompts increased the share of citations to Japanese pages. Apply that finding to your content research: investigate sources in your readers' language, translate articles that answer their questions, and add the pricing and customer examples relevant to their market.
Please Cite Me! is a reporting tool for SEO agencies that checks whether a page is publicly accessible and whether its content is sufficiently developed, then produces an audit report.
When revising a translated article, try Please Cite Me! to check page accessibility and identify gaps in its explanations!
About the author
Yuma Okamoto
Developer of Please Cite Me! and CEO of Abeam Tech Inc.
University of Tokyo graduate focused on web product development, SEO, and information architecture for AI search, with a particular interest in how web content is understood and cited by search engines and AI.
X / @okamoto_yuma_Frequently asked questions
Do Japanese prompts only produce citations to Japanese sites?
The Japan comparison found a higher share of Japanese-language pages for Japanese prompts, while English sources also appeared. Record the actual URL and the language of its content. For sites with Japanese and English versions, track which version was cited rather than classifying the source solely by domain.
Should I translate every article that receives AI citations?
Choose articles based on whether readers in the new language need the information and whether it matches the features and support available in that market. Shared workflows may translate well, while pricing, subscription plans, and customer examples need to reflect local offerings.
How can I check whether a translated article is being cited?
Repeat the same questions in the same language before and after publication and compare the cited URLs. Record both the original and translated URLs to identify which version appears. The language-comparison figures in these studies measure differences between prompts, rather than the citation growth a business can expect from translating its site.
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