Definition
Citation stealing is the AEO tactic of becoming the canonical secondary source for a topic, so when an answer engine fans out from a primary source (e.g. a research paper), the engine cites YOUR summary page instead of the paper itself. Common when the primary source is paywalled, PDF-only, or written for an academic audience. Less ethical to call 'stealing' but the technical mechanism is real.
Original paper at arxiv.org/abs/2603.29979 → blog post by VectorCite summarizing the paper in plain English → answer engines cite the VectorCite post because it's easier to retrieve + parse.
How to optimize
Find primary sources in your domain (research papers, official docs, regulatory filings) that are hard for engines to parse. Summarize them in plain HTML with clear structure. Link back to the primary source. Engines reward this.