AI search terminology

AEO is the abbreviation of Answer Engine Optimisation, the practice of making a source likely to be used in the direct answer a search or AI system returns.

Answer Engine Optimisation is the practice of structuring and publishing information so that a search or AI system selects it as the direct answer to a question.

GEO is the abbreviation of Generative Engine Optimisation, the practice of making a source likely to be cited inside text generated by an AI system.

Generative Engine Optimisation is the practice of influencing whether and how a source is cited within the text that a generative AI system produces.

LLM seeding is the practice of publishing and distributing information about an entity across independent sources so that large language models can retrieve, corroborate and repeat it.

AI SEO is a broad label for search engine optimisation work aimed at AI-powered search systems as well as conventional search results.

LLM SEO is search engine optimisation directed specifically at large language models and the retrieval systems that feed them.

Entity SEO is the practice of making a person, organisation, product or place unambiguously identifiable to search and AI systems as a distinct thing rather than a string of text.

AI visibility is the extent to which a brand or entity is named, cited and recommended by AI systems in response to relevant questions.

AI search is the category of search experiences in which an AI system interprets the query and composes a response, rather than returning a list of links alone.

AI Overviews is Google's feature that places an AI-generated summary with linked sources above the conventional search results.

Citation frequency is a measure of how often an AI system names or links a given source across a set of relevant prompts.