AI visibility glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used in AI search and AI visibility. Each term links to a deeper guide where we have one.
AI visibility
How often, how prominently and how accurately AI engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot and Claude name, describe and recommend a business.
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
The practice of improving how a business is understood, cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers, rather than only ranking in a list of search results.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
A term, largely from academic research, for improving visibility inside answers produced by generative AI. In practice it overlaps heavily with AEO.
AI SEO
The everyday umbrella term for optimising a business to appear in AI search and AI recommendations. Often used interchangeably with AEO and GEO.
AI search
Asking an AI tool such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot or Claude a question and receiving a written answer instead of a list of links.
AIO (AI Optimisation)
Optimising a business so AI tools cite and recommend it; the same goal as AEO, GEO and AI SEO. Also used as shorthand for Google AI Overviews.
LLM SEO
Optimising content and entity signals so large language models understand, cite and recommend a business. Another name for AEO, GEO or AI SEO.
AI citation
When an AI engine links to or references a web page as a source for its answer. Different from an AI mention, where the engine names a business in the answer text without necessarily citing its website.
CitedScore™
Cited AI's indicative AI visibility score out of 100, built from four areas: AI presence, Google profile and reviews, website readiness and third-party authority.
Prompt set
A fixed list of real customer questions used to test AI engines repeatedly, so results can be compared over time.
Google AI Overviews
AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of some Google search results, often citing a handful of sources.
Google AI Mode
Google's conversational search experience, where people ask longer questions and follow-ups and receive a full AI-written answer with links to sources.
Zero-click search
A search where the person gets their answer on the results page or in an AI response without clicking through to a website.
Entity
A clearly identifiable thing — such as a business, person or place — that search engines and AI systems can recognise and connect facts to.
Structured data (schema)
Code added to web pages that labels facts, such as business name, address, services and FAQs, in a format machines can read reliably.
llms.txt
A proposed plain-text file at the root of a website that summarises the site and its key pages for AI systems. Support varies by platform.
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
A method where an AI system searches for and reads relevant sources at the time of a question, then uses them to write its answer. Many AI search features work this way.
NAP consistency
Keeping a business's name, address and phone number identical everywhere it appears online, so AI and search engines can connect every listing to one business.
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