What changed in the dashboard
Microsoft Clarity's AI Citations dashboard now segments the queries it reports into branded and non-branded. Individual queries carry a branded label in the queries card, the Share of Authority card breaks its results out by query type, and dashboard filters let you compare performance across the two groups.
Microsoft's stated purpose is separating brand-led demand from generic discovery, and it describes the Share of Authority split as showing "where your authority is strongest: queries that mention your brand versus more general queries." The change was announced on August 3, 2026, with no phased rollout described.
What a combined total hides
A branded citation and a non-branded citation are different results wearing the same label. When someone asks an assistant about your company by name, being cited confirms the assistant can locate you and has something to say. That is table stakes, and a store with a functioning website generally clears it.
The non-branded query is the one that was worth money. Somebody described a problem or a product category without naming a vendor, and the answer named you anyway. That is the citation that puts you in front of a buyer who had not heard of you.
Added together, the two move as one figure that can rise on brand searches while the discovery half stays flat. Splitting them turns a vanity chart into a measurement of whether AI search is introducing you to anyone new.
What to do about it
Re-read your existing AI-citation numbers with the filter on
If you already report an AI-visibility figure to anyone, split it before the next report goes out and check what the non-branded half looks like on its own. A total that has been climbing for months can turn out to be brand searches doing all the work, which changes what the number is evidence for.