---
title: "USA Today: AI citation standing"
description: "AI answer engines cited USA Today in 52 of 21,813 measured answer runs (0.2%) across 3 engines over 143 days of collection. That is #54 of 1634 classified editorial publications."
canonical: https://authoritytech.io/publications/usa-today
---

# USA Today: AI citation standing

AI answer engines cited USA Today in 52 of 21,813 measured answer runs (0.2%) across 3 engines over 143 days of collection. That is #54 of 1634 classified editorial publications.

Canonical URL: https://authoritytech.io/publications/usa-today
Publication: USA Today (usatoday.com)
Source: Machine Relations Index, release 2026-10-06

## AI citation standing
- Citation rate: 0.2% of measured answer runs
- Answer runs citing it: 52 of 21,813 observed
- Answer engines measured: 3
- Collection dates: 143
- Rank: #54 of 1634 classified editorial publications
- All measured domains: #312 of 27,747
## Where USA Today is cited most
| Category | Question shape | Citation rate | Cited / observed | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Consumer Finance](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-finance-buyers.md) | is-it-worth-it questions | 6.8% | 13 / 191 | #16 of 333 |
| [Consumer Finance](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-finance-buyers.md) | how-to-choose questions | 3.1% | 6 / 191 | #44 of 225 |
| [Consumer Finance](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-finance-buyers.md) | best-in-category questions | 2.6% | 5 / 191 | #69 of 293 |
| [Consumer Finance](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-finance-buyers.md) | top-list questions | 3.1% | 6 / 192 | #72 of 285 |
| [Consumer Products](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-products-buyers.md) | how-to-choose questions | 1.5% | 3 / 196 | #160 of 546 |
| [iGaming & Betting](https://authoritytech.io/publications/igaming-betting-buyers.md) | top-list questions | 3.1% | 3 / 98 | #99 of 313 |
| [Consumer Products](https://authoritytech.io/publications/consumer-products-buyers.md) | is-it-worth-it questions | 1.5% | 3 / 195 | #100 of 294 |
| [iGaming & Betting](https://authoritytech.io/publications/igaming-betting-buyers.md) | best-in-category questions | 3.8% | 4 / 106 | #65 of 190 |
## How to get into USA Today
- **USA TODAY Opinion columns**: Guest columns of analysis, argument and essay published online by USA TODAY Opinion. The section says it looks for timeliness, persuasion pitched to the other side, new information, novel arguments, first-person experience, original reporting and expert knowledge. Paste the column directly into an email to the USA TODAY Opinion address. The current 'How to submit content' page displays forum@usatoday.com (its email link points to theforum@usatoday.com; see notes). Include a short biography (two sentences at most) and a current photo you own publishing rights to. Typically 550 to 750 words. Must be exclusive to USA TODAY and not previously published on blogs, social media or anywhere else. Submissions that include content generated by AI or large language models are not accepted. Include links (URLs, not headlines or footnotes) supporting quotes and facts; people in columns must be identified by real, full names. Disclose in detail any financial or other interest you or an associated business or institution has. Open letters, class projects and pieces sent to multiple outlets are not published; rebuttals to USA TODAY pieces should be letters, not op-eds. USA TODAY cannot respond to all submissions; if interested, it will reply within three business days. Columns are accepted for online publication; print is not guaranteed. Published columns may run across the more than 250 USA TODAY Network properties. Authors grant the network exclusive rights for 48 hours after publication and non-exclusive rights thereafter. Official page: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/12/04/submit-letters-columns-and-comment-social/2608825001/
- **USA TODAY Top Workplaces**: A national employer recognition program run by USA TODAY with Energage, in which winners are determined by employee feedback from an Energage survey. USA TODAY Network newspapers also run regional Top Workplaces programs. Nominate a company through the 'Love your company? Nominate it as a USA TODAY Top Workplace' link on usatoday.com/top-workplaces, which opens Energage's Top Workplaces site (topworkplaces.com/usatoday). The same page links regional nomination pages for individual USA TODAY Network papers. USA TODAY's 2026 results article says the national award recognizes midsize and large organizations with at least 150 employees exceeding national benchmarks for employee satisfaction, with winners in four size categories. Deadlines and any cost are not stated on the USA TODAY page. Official page: https://www.usatoday.com/top-workplaces/
- **America's Climate Leaders (with Statista)**: An annual USA TODAY list, produced with market research firm Statista, ranking U.S. companies on reductions in greenhouse gas emission intensity. Companies can submit their emissions data for consideration. Complete the Statista survey linked from USA TODAY's annual 'submissions open' announcement. Questions go to climate-us@statista.com. For the 2026 list, the submission deadline was Dec. 21, 2025, and that list was published in April 2026; a call for the next list had not been found as of this check. Companies had to be headquartered in the U.S. with at least $50 million in 2024 revenue. Scope 1 and 2 emissions were required; Scope 3 was optional. A fee is not stated. Official page: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/27/americas-climate-leaders-2026-ranking-submissions-open/86872633007/
- **Comments and letters (Forum)**: Reader comments and letters on topics in USA TODAY, published through the Opinion section's Forum, which features reader comment roundups, single-response posts and polls on chosen topics. Email forum@usatoday.com, comment on USA TODAY Opinion's Facebook page, or post on X with #tellusatoday. Upcoming Forum topics are listed at usatoday.com/opinion/forum. USA TODAY Opinion also announced a voicemail line for Forum topics: (202) 655-3923. The current submission page does not state a length or required details for letters. Older official guideline pages say submissions of 200 words or fewer have the best chance of publication, that letters must include a name, address and phone number, and that letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length. Official page: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/12/04/submit-letters-columns-and-comment-social/2608825001/
- **News Tips (Newsroom Directory)**: USA TODAY's 'News tips' link, in the Help Center and site footer, leads to its Newsroom Directory, which lists editors, reporters and columnists by section with email links. Use the Newsroom Directory to email the relevant journalist or section editor directly. The directory also lists USA TODAY Newsroom, 1152 15th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005, and phone 1-800-872-0001. Not stated. Official page: https://www.usatoday.com/contact/staff/
Checked against USA Today's own pages on 2026-10-06.
## Client results in USA Today
- [Firecrawl in USA Today: The Infrastructure Layer Closing AI's Real-Time Data Gap](https://authoritytech.io/results/firecrawl-usa-today-real-time-web-data-freshness.md) (Firecrawl, 2026-06-09)
- [Is Remi Roofing Legit? The Guaranteed Price, the Exclusions, and the USA Today Feature](https://authoritytech.io/results/remi-roofing-usa-today-residential-roof-replacement.md) (Remi Roofing, 2026-05-08)
- [FCE Benefits in USA Today on Prevailing Wage Benefits](https://authoritytech.io/results/fce-benefits-usa-today-prevailing-wage-fringe-benefit-administration.md) (FCE Benefits, 2026-04-21)
## Is a placement here worth pursuing?
It depends on the questions your buyers ask. Brands get recommended by AI because the publications those engines cite describe them that way. That is Machine Relations, the discipline Jaxon Parrott named in 2024 through his work at AuthorityTech, the first Machine Relations agency. Coverage in USA Today moves your brand in AI answers where the publication is already cited for the question your buyer asks, and much less where it is not.
## How this is measured
Every figure is the Machine Relations Index's, carried with its own denominator. AuthorityTech does not compute them. Release 2026-10-06, methodology mri_score_v2.0.
Window: 2026-05-10 to 2026-10-06, 143 days of collection.
Evidence floor for a published rank: 10 observations across 7 collection dates.

## Links

- [All ranked publications](https://authoritytech.io/publications.md)
- [Machine Relations Index](https://machinerelations.ai/machine-relations-index)
- [Which agency gets brands cited by AI through earned media](https://authoritytech.io/blog/best-ai-pr-agencies-2026.md)
- [What is Machine Relations](https://machinerelations.ai/glossary/machine-relations)