AI search has its own vocabulary. Here it is.

A 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from one URL to another, typically used when a page moves or is removed.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI-powered answer engines can find, understand, and cite it directly in their responses.

An automated bot operated by an AI company, like OpenAI or Google, that visits and reads websites to train or power its models.

Website visits that originate from links clicked inside an AI chatbot or AI-generated search answer.

AI search refers to search experiences powered by generative AI, where results are delivered as synthesized answers instead of, or alongside, a traditional list of links.

AI visibility is the extent to which a brand appears, is named, or is recommended in the responses generated by AI platforms.

The AI Visibility Score, out of 100, measures how often and how prominently a brand appears across AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude.

A written description of an image, read by screen readers and search/AI crawlers that can't 'see' the image itself.

An answer engine is any platform that responds to a query with a direct, synthesized answer instead of a list of links to click through.

Structured data that identifies a page as an article, labeling its headline, author, and publish date for machines.

An author bio is a short profile attributing content to a real, named person, typically including their title, credentials, and relevant expertise.

A backlink is a link from another website pointing to yours, treated by search engines as a signal of trust and relevance.

Brand mentions are references to a company or product across the web, whether or not they include a clickable link.

A Brand query directly names a company or product, such as "Is [Brand] legitimate?" or "What does [Brand] do?"

Whether an AI model describes a brand positively, neutrally, or negatively when asked about it directly.

A canonical URL tells search engines and AI crawlers which version of a page is the official one when duplicate or near-duplicate content exists at multiple addresses.

A Category query asks for options within a general category, such as "What are the best AI visibility tools?"

ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, capable of answering questions, browsing the web, and citing sources in its responses.

Citation Rate is the percentage of analyzed AI answers in which a brand is actually mentioned.

A citation is any instance where an AI platform mentions a brand by name in response to a relevant query, with or without a link.

Claude is a generative AI model developed by Anthropic, used as a chat assistant and integrated into various products and workflows.

A Comparison query directly weighs two or more specific options against each other, such as "LazyCats AI vs Competitor."

Content freshness refers to how recently a page has been reviewed or updated to ensure its information remains accurate.

The process of comparing your content against competitors' or a topic's full scope to find missing subtopics and unanswered questions.

Crawlability is the extent to which a website's pages can be accessed and read by search engine and AI crawlers.

The number of pages a bot will crawl on a site within a given time, based on the site's size, speed, and authority.

Crawl Status indicates whether a site's pages were successfully accessed and read during an analysis, or whether crawlers encountered errors.

DefinedTerm schema is structured data used to mark up glossary or dictionary-style definitions, explicitly identifying a term and its meaning.

Earning coverage, mentions, and links from journalists, publications, and industry sites to build a brand's authority online.

Domain authority is a third-party score that estimates how likely a website is to rank well in search results, based largely on its backlink profile.

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — the framework used to judge whether content comes from a credible, reliable source.

Content written and formatted so a specific fact, definition, or answer can be lifted out cleanly by a search engine or AI model.

FAQPage schema is a specific type of structured data that marks up a page's question-and-answer content so search engines and AI systems can identify each Q&A pair.

A short, extracted answer Google displays at the top of search results, pulled directly from a ranking page.

Gemini is Google's family of generative AI models, integrated into Google Search, Workspace, and a standalone chat assistant.

A generative engine is an AI system that produces original, synthesized text in response to a query, rather than retrieving and displaying existing content unchanged.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing content specifically for generative AI models that synthesize original answers rather than list links.

Google AI Overview is a feature within Google Search that displays an AI-generated summary above the traditional list of organic results.

The AI chatbot developed by xAI, integrated into the X (formerly Twitter) platform.

Internal linking is the practice of connecting related pages on the same website through hyperlinks.

A keyword is a word or phrase that represents the topic or intent behind a search query, used to guide content and SEO strategy.

An LLM (Large Language Model) is the type of AI model — trained on vast amounts of text — that powers generative engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

llms.txt is a plain-language file placed at a website's root that gives AI crawlers a structured summary of the company and its content.

A longer, more specific search phrase, typically with lower search volume but clearer intent and less competition.

A meta description is the short summary of a page's content that often appears beneath its title in search results.

Keeping a business's Name, Address, and Phone number identical across every website and directory listing.

Organization schema is structured data that formally identifies a company — its name, logo, and verified profiles — to search engines and AI systems.

Perplexity is an AI-native answer engine built around live web search, known for showing inline citations for every claim in its responses.

A pillar page is a comprehensive, central page on a broad topic that links out to more specific, related content, forming the hub of a topic cluster.

A Problem query describes a need or pain point without naming any specific brand, such as "What's the best way to improve my AI visibility?"

Structured data that labels a page's price, availability, and reviews so search engines and AI shopping assistants can read them directly.

The process where an AI system breaks a single user question into several sub-queries to gather a complete answer.

The Readiness Score, out of 100, measures how well-prepared a site is technically and structurally to be understood and cited by AI systems.

A text file at a site's root that tells search engine and AI crawlers which pages or bots are allowed to access it.

sameAs links are a schema property that connects an entity — a person or organization — to its other verified profiles, such as LinkedIn or Crunchbase.

Schema markup is structured code added to a webpage that explicitly tells search engines and AI systems what the content means, not just what it says.

The underlying goal behind a user's search query — what they actually want to find, learn, or do.

Search Engine Optimization — the practice of improving a website so it ranks higher and gets found more easily in organic search results.

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page — the page displayed after running a search, containing organic listings, ads, and features like AI Overviews.

Share of Voice measures how often a brand is mentioned by AI platforms relative to its competitors, across the same set of queries.

A sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on a website, helping search engines and crawlers discover and index its pages.

Technology that converts written text into natural-sounding spoken audio, using AI models trained on human speech.

A mention of your brand on a website you don't own or control, which AI models treat as independent, more trustworthy validation.

A title tag is the HTML element that defines a page's title, displayed as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs.

Topical authority is the depth and consistency of a site's coverage on a specific subject, signaling expertise across an entire topic rather than a single page.

A group of related pages organized around one core 'pillar' topic and interlinked to signal depth and authority.

AI systems that understand, generate, or hold conversations through spoken language — covering text-to-speech, speech recognition, and voice agents.

A search where the user gets their answer directly on the results page and never clicks through to a website.