Dofollow link
A dofollow link is an ordinary link with no rel attribute asking search engines to ignore it, so it can pass ranking credit to the page it points to.
A dofollow link is an ordinary link that search engines are free to follow and count. There's no actual "dofollow" attribute. The word is SEO shorthand for any link that doesn't carry rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc".
Marketers care about the difference because a plain link from a trusted site can help the page it points to rank. A link marked nofollow tells search engines you'd rather not vouch for the page.
The labels Google asks for
Google asks site owners to label some links so it knows what they are. Paid links and ads get sponsored. Links in comments and forum posts get ugc. Anything else you don't want to stand behind gets nofollow. Google explains each one in its guide to qualifying outbound links, and says a normal link needs no attribute at all.
For example, a coffee blog writes a guide to home espresso and links to Fernhill Coffee's grinder review because it's useful. That's a plain, followed link. If Fernhill paid for the mention, the blog should mark the link sponsored. Buying followed links to raise rankings is against Google's spam policies.
Do they matter for AI answers?
An AI platform that searches the web reads the text of a page, not just its links. If a review names your brand, an answer can repeat that whether or not the link to you is followed. A nofollow link from a page the platforms read often can be worth more to you than a followed one from a page they never use.
Followed links still help in a quieter way. They help your own pages rank in ordinary search, and ranking pages are the ones AI platforms tend to find when they search.
In AnswerOrbit
Sources shows the pages the answers read for your prompts, and the Gaps tab lists the ones that name a competitor and not you. Our recommendations never include links you pay or trade for. See Sources and Recommendations.