Every term, in plain English.

The practice of optimising your website and content so that AI-powered answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude) cite your business when users ask questions. AEO focuses on structured data, entity authority, and answer-formatted content rather than traditional keyword rankings.

The AI-generated summary panels that appear at the top of Google search results. Powered by Gemini, AI Overviews synthesise information from multiple sources and present a conversational answer before the traditional blue links. Appearing in an AI Overview can significantly increase brand visibility.

A broad term for search experiences powered by large language models. Instead of returning a list of links, AI search engines provide direct, conversational answers. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot are all examples of AI search interfaces.

A sitemap file specifically structured for AI model crawlers, highlighting your highest-value pages and their purpose. Unlike a standard XML sitemap that lists every URL for search engine crawlers, an AI sitemap tells language models which pages contain the most authoritative, citation-worthy content.

A section of content on your website formatted specifically for AI citation. Answer blocks use clear question-based headings followed by concise, factual answers in two to four sentences. This structure makes it easy for AI models to extract and cite your content directly.

When an AI model mentions your business, website, or content by name in its response to a user. Citations are the AI equivalent of organic search rankings. The more frequently AI models cite your business, the more visible you are to people using AI search tools.

An AI assistant built by Anthropic. Claude is used directly via claude.ai and through the Claude API. It draws on web content, structured data, and entity signals to generate responses. Optimising for Claude follows the same principles as general AEO: strong entity authority, structured data, and clear content.

Microsoft's AI assistant, integrated into Bing search, Windows, Microsoft 365, and Edge browser. Copilot draws from Bing's search index and web data. Businesses that rank well in Bing and have strong structured data are more likely to be cited by Copilot.

The strength and consistency of your business's identity signals across the web. Entity authority is built through structured data on your site, consistent brand mentions across directories and publications, verified business profiles, and clear information about who you are, what you do, and where you operate. AI models rely on entity authority to decide which businesses are trustworthy enough to recommend.

A type of structured data markup (using JSON-LD) that tells search engines and AI models that a section of your page contains questions and answers. FAQ schema helps your content appear in Google's FAQ rich results and makes it easy for AI models to extract and cite your answers directly.

A highlighted answer box at the top of Google search results, pulled from a web page that Google considers the best answer to a query. Featured snippets predate AI Overviews and still appear for many searches. Content that earns featured snippets is often the same content that AI models cite.

The practice of optimising your content and website specifically for generative AI systems. GEO encompasses both the technical markup (schema, llms.txt, AI sitemaps) and the content strategy (answer-formatted writing, entity reinforcement) needed to be cited by AI models. GEO is a broader discipline that includes AEO.

Google's AI model, embedded across Android, Google Search (powering AI Overviews), Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, and the wider Workspace suite. Gemini draws from Google's Knowledge Graph, Search index, and Google Business Profile data. Formerly known as Bard.

JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data. The recommended format for adding structured data to your website. JSON-LD is a script block placed in your page's HTML that describes your business, content, and relationships in a format search engines and AI models can read directly, without parsing your page layout.

Google's database of entities (people, businesses, places, things) and the relationships between them. When Google recognises your business as a Knowledge Graph entity, it understands your identity, location, services, and connections. This recognition significantly improves your visibility in both traditional search and AI-powered results.

A text file placed at the root of your website (yoursite.com/llms.txt) that tells AI model crawlers what your site is about and which pages are most important. Similar to how robots.txt guides search engine crawlers, llms.txt is specifically designed for large language model crawlers. It typically includes a site description, key pages, and content categories.

An AI-powered search engine that provides direct answers with cited sources. Unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity always shows its sources, making citations visible and verifiable. Perplexity is growing rapidly as an alternative to traditional search, particularly for research-oriented queries.

A standardised vocabulary of tags (from Schema.org) that you add to your website's HTML to help search engines and AI models understand your content. Schema markup describes your business type, services, location, reviews, FAQs, products, events, and more in a machine-readable format. JSON-LD is the most common implementation method.

The practice of improving your website's visibility in search engine results. Traditional SEO focuses on keyword research, on-page optimisation, link building, and technical site health. While still essential, SEO alone is no longer sufficient. AEO and GEO extend traditional SEO to cover AI-powered search experiences.

Information on your website that is organised in a standardised, machine-readable format. Structured data uses Schema.org vocabulary (typically implemented as JSON-LD) to describe your business, content, products, and services. It helps search engines and AI models understand what your pages are about without relying on natural language interpretation alone.

A specific question or search phrase that causes an AI model to mention or recommend a particular business. Understanding which trigger queries are relevant to your business helps you create content that directly addresses those queries. Brain Buddy's AI visibility audit identifies the trigger queries where your competitors currently appear and you do not.