AI SEO Glossary

Answer Engine Optimisation

The practice of optimising content so that AI search engines, voice assistants, and answer engines cite your brand as the direct answer to user queries. AEO focuses on structured data, question-and-answer formatting, and entity authority to earn placements in AI Overviews, featured snippets, and conversational AI responses.

AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google search results, providing direct answers synthesised from multiple web sources. Previously known as Search Generative Experience (SGE), AI Overviews use Google's Gemini model to generate concise responses with cited sources.

Links from external websites that point to your website. Backlinks act as a vote of confidence and are a key ranking factor in traditional SEO. High-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative domains carry more weight than a large volume of low-quality links.

An HTML element that tells search engines which version of a page is the primary or preferred version when duplicate or similar content exists across multiple URLs. Canonical tags prevent duplicate content issues and consolidate ranking signals to a single URL.

An AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that generates conversational responses to user queries. ChatGPT has become a significant search alternative, with users asking it questions they would traditionally search on Google. Optimising for ChatGPT citations involves building entity authority and providing well-structured, factual content.

An AI assistant developed by Anthropic that generates detailed, thoughtful responses to user queries. Claude prioritises well-cited, authoritative sources and values content with clear structure, factual accuracy, and transparent sourcing.

A content strategy model where a central pillar page covers a broad topic comprehensively, surrounded by related cluster pages that explore specific subtopics in detail. Internal links connect cluster pages to the pillar, signalling topical authority to search engines and AI models.

The ability of search engine bots and AI crawlers to access, read, and index the pages on your website. Factors affecting crawlability include robots.txt directives, site architecture, internal linking, page load speed, and server response codes.

A metric (originally developed by Moz) that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results. Domain Authority is scored from 1 to 100 based on factors including backlink profile, referring domains, and overall site trustworthiness.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A framework used by Google's Search Quality Raters to evaluate content quality. E-E-A-T signals help search engines and AI models determine which sources are credible enough to rank highly or cite in AI-generated answers.

The degree to which a brand, person, or concept is recognised and understood as a distinct entity by search engines and AI models. Entity authority is built through consistent NAP data, schema markup, Knowledge Graph presence, and citations across authoritative sources.

A highlighted answer box that appears at the top of Google search results (position zero), displaying a direct answer extracted from a web page. Featured snippets can appear as paragraphs, lists, tables, or video clips and are a primary target for AEO strategies.

Google's multimodal AI model that powers Google AI Overviews, the Gemini chatbot, and other Google AI products. Gemini synthesises information from the web to generate answers, making it a key platform for GEO and AEO strategies.

Generative Engine Optimisation

The practice of optimising content specifically to be cited by generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. GEO goes beyond traditional SEO by focusing on how large language models select, synthesise, and attribute information from web sources.

A free listing on Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search and Google Maps. An optimised Google Business Profile is essential for local SEO and increasingly influences AI-generated local recommendations.

The process by which search engines store and organise web page content in their database after crawling. Only indexed pages can appear in search results. Indexing issues can prevent pages from ranking regardless of content quality.

JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data. A method of encoding structured data using JSON syntax that is embedded in the HTML of a web page. JSON-LD is Google's preferred format for schema markup and helps search engines and AI models understand page content programmatically.

Google's knowledge base of interconnected entities (people, businesses, places, concepts) and their relationships. The Knowledge Graph powers knowledge panels, AI Overviews, and other rich search features. Being represented in the Knowledge Graph significantly increases AI citation potential.

Large Language Model Optimisation

The practice of optimising content to be selected and cited by large language models such as GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and Llama. LLMO is closely related to GEO and focuses on understanding how LLMs retrieve, evaluate, and present information from training data and real-time web access.

A plain text file placed in the root directory of a website that provides AI search engines and large language models with a structured summary of the site's content, purpose, and key pages. Proposed by Jeremy Howard as a standard for helping AI models understand websites efficiently.

An AI-powered search engine that provides direct, cited answers to user queries by searching the web in real time and synthesising information from multiple sources. Perplexity represents the shift from link-based search to answer-based search.

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 enables rich results, knowledge panels, and improves how AI platforms interpret and cite your pages.

Search Engine Optimisation

The practice of optimising a website to improve its visibility and ranking in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses technical optimisation, on-page content, off-page authority building, and user experience improvements.

Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user query. Modern SERPs include organic listings, paid ads, featured snippets, knowledge panels, AI Overviews, and other rich results.

Organised information added to web pages in a format that search engines and AI models can easily parse and understand. Structured data uses standardised vocabularies like Schema.org to describe entities, relationships, and attributes on a page.

The perceived expertise of a website on a specific subject area, built through comprehensive, interlinked content covering all aspects of a topic. Topical authority signals to search engines and AI models that a site is a reliable source for a given subject.

A search query where the user gets their answer directly on the search results page without clicking through to any website. Zero-click searches include featured snippets, knowledge panels, AI Overviews, and direct answer boxes. Optimising for zero-click visibility requires AEO and GEO strategies.