Glossary
The vocabulary of AI search.
GEO, AEO, citation share, share of voice — the language is still being written. Here's how we use these terms.
- AI Engine
- A general term for the AI assistants and answer products that synthesize responses from multiple sources — ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok.
- AI Overviews
- Google's AI-generated answer block that appears above traditional search results for many queries.
- AI Search
- The shift from typing keywords into a search box to asking AI assistants conversational questions.
- Answer Engine
- A search product that returns a direct synthesized answer instead of a list of links — Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, Google AI Overviews.
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
- The practice of optimizing your brand and content so that AI answer engines cite you when users ask direct questions.
- Brand Mention
- Any reference to your brand by name inside an AI-generated answer.
- Citation
- A specific URL or source that an AI engine links to when supporting a claim in its answer.
- Citation Share
- The percentage of AI-cited sources that come from your domain across a tracked set of queries.
- Entity SEO
- Optimization that helps search engines and LLMs recognize your brand as a distinct, well-defined entity rather than just a string of keywords.
- Generative Engine
- An AI system that generates answers (rather than retrieving them), typically powered by an LLM.
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
- The practice of optimizing your brand and content to be cited, recommended, and described favorably by generative AI engines.
- Hallucination
- When an AI engine states something confidently that is factually wrong — including incorrect details about your brand.
- Large Language Model (LLM)
- The underlying AI model that powers AI engines — examples include GPT-5, Gemini 3, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Grok 4.
- Prompt
- The question or instruction a user gives an AI engine — equivalent to a search query.
- Schema Markup
- Structured data added to your pages (in JSON-LD format) that tells search engines and LLMs exactly what your content is about.
- Share of Voice (SoV)
- The percentage of AI-generated answers in your category that mention your brand, relative to competitors.
- Source Authority
- How much weight an AI engine gives a particular source when generating answers — analogous to traditional domain authority but specific to LLM trust signals.
- Topical Authority
- The depth and breadth of credible content your brand has on a specific topic — a key signal for both Google ranking and AI inclusion.
- Visibility Score
- A composite metric that quantifies how present your brand is in AI-generated answers across tracked queries and engines.
See how these terms apply to your brand.
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