The AI search glossary
Every term ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews actually run on, defined in plain language and checked against a primary source today: the AI company's own documentation, Google Search Central, Schema.org, the W3C, or the IETF, never a blog summarizing someone else's research.
Each entry opens with a direct, quotable answer, the same 40 to 60 word shape an AI engine looks for when it picks a source to cite. That is not an accident. This glossary is the clearest example on the whole site of what AnswerFix is trying to get every client's page to do.
Core concepts
AEO vs GEO vs SEO
SEO targets rankings, AEO targets direct answers, GEO targets generative AI citations.
Read definitionAI brand monitoring
Tracking how AI answers mention, describe, and rank your business over time.
Read definitionAI visibility
Whether AI systems actually name your business when customers ask relevant questions.
Read definitionAnswer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Optimizing content so AI answer engines can find, trust, and quote it directly.
Read definitionGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)
The research-backed practice of optimizing content for AI-generated answers, not ranked links.
Read definitionCrawlers and files
AI crawlers
The named bots AI companies use to crawl, train on, and cite your website.
Read definitionllms.txt
A proposed root file summarizing your site for AI systems, adoption still unconfirmed.
Read definitionStructured data
LocalBusiness schema
The structured data type that states your core business facts in machine-readable form.
Read definitionGlossary questions
- Who is this glossary written for?
- Local business owners and the people who build their websites, who keep running into terms like answer engine optimization or GPTBot in AI visibility advice without a plain explanation nearby. Every entry defines the term, explains why it matters to a local business, and links to a free tool where one applies.
- How are these definitions sourced?
- Every factual claim is checked against a primary source: the AI company's own crawler documentation, Google Search Central, Schema.org, the W3C, the IETF, or the original research paper, cited inline with a link in the sources list at the bottom of each entry. Nothing here is copied from a blog summarizing someone else's research.
- Why does the definition read like something an AI would quote?
- Because that is the point. The opening paragraph of every entry is written as a complete, standalone 40 to 60 word answer, the same length and directness an AI engine looks for when selecting a source to quote in a generated response, which is the exact behavior this glossary explains.
See where your business stands today
Definitions explain the mechanics. The free score tells you whether ChatGPT and Perplexity already recommend you.