[ Glossary ]
The language of AI search.
Plain-language definitions of the terms behind being recommended by AI: AEO, GEO, citations, AI Overviews and more.
AI crawlability
Whether AI bots can read your site.
EcosystemAI Overviews
Google's AI-generated answers above search results.
FoundationsAI share of voice
Your slice of brand mentions in AI answers.
FoundationsAI visibility
How often and prominently AI names your brand.
EcosystemAnswer engine
A tool that returns a direct answer, not links.
FoundationsAnswer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Optimizing a brand to be the answer AI assistants give.
FoundationsCitation
AI uses your site as a linked source.
FoundationsE-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust.
FoundationsGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Getting cited inside AI-generated answers.
TechnicalGrounding
Tying an AI answer to real sources.
FoundationsHallucination
When AI states something false or invented.
TechnicalKnowledge graph
A map of entities and how they relate.
FoundationsLarge Language Model (LLM)
The AI models behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Technicalllms.txt
A proposed file guiding AI to your key content.
FoundationsMention
AI names your brand without linking.
FoundationsPrompt
The question a user asks an AI.
TechnicalRetrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
When AI fetches live sources before answering.
TechnicalSchema markup (structured data)
Code that tells machines what your content means.
FoundationsTopical authority
Being the most complete source on a topic.
EcosystemZero-click search
Queries answered without a click to any site.
[ FAQ ]
What's the difference between AEO, GEO and SEO?+
SEO optimises for ranking in Google's blue-link results. AEO (answer engine optimisation) and GEO (generative engine optimisation) optimise for being named inside the answers that AI assistants generate. They overlap with SEO but target the AI answer, not the link list.
Why does this vocabulary matter for my brand?+
AI assistants now decide which brands get mentioned when your customers ask. Understanding terms like citations, AI Overviews and llms.txt helps you see where your visibility is won or lost, and what to fix.
Is a term missing from the glossary?+
We add terms as AI search evolves. If there's something you want defined, tell us and we'll cover it.
How do I turn these concepts into results?+
Start with a free visibility check to see how AI currently talks about your brand, then we handle the work across our five-pillar framework.
Know the words? Now win them.
Understanding AI search is step one. Being the answer is the goal.
You know the vocabulary. See how AI actually talks about your brand today, free, then we make you the one it recommends.