> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getcited.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Query Archetype

> A category of prompt structure — problem-first, context-specific, budget-anchored, comparison, recommendation-seeking, or feature-curious.

**Query archetype** is a category of prompt structure that describes how a question is framed. Cited's [prompt-generation pipeline](/methodology/query-generation) classifies prompts into six archetypes: problem\_first, context\_specific, budget\_anchored, comparison, recommendation\_seeking, and feature\_curious. Each archetype reflects a different way real customers ask questions, and each produces different brand visibility patterns.

## Why it matters

Different archetypes surface different brands. A problem-first prompt ("my skin gets oily by afternoon") may mention different brands than a comparison prompt ("boat vs noise earbuds") or a budget-anchored prompt ("affordable noise cancelling earphones"). A brand that dominates recommendation prompts but is invisible on comparison prompts has a specific content gap to fill. Archetype-level analysis reveals these gaps.

## How Cited uses it

The pipeline generates prompts across all six archetypes with target distribution weights (problem\_first 25%, context\_specific 20%, budget\_anchored 15%, comparison 15%, recommendation\_seeking 15%, feature\_curious 10%). This ensures a brand's prompt library covers the full range of customer question styles. Dashboard analytics support archetype-level filtering for precise visibility diagnostics.

## Related concepts

* [How we generate prompts](/methodology/query-generation) — the pipeline that classifies prompt archetypes
* [Intent type](/glossary/intent-type) — the broader intent classification that archetypes sit within
* [Prompt engineering](/glossary/prompt-engineering) — the discipline of crafting effective prompts