Glossary
AEO, in plain words
The words of answer engine optimization in plain English, and where each one shows up in Keats.
- Action cardAn action card is one piece of AEO work: a gap, why it happens, the change to make, the questions it targets, and later, its verdict.
- AEO (answer engine optimization)AEO, answer engine optimization, is the work of getting your brand named and your pages cited in the answers AI assistants write.
- Google AI OverviewsGoogle AI Overviews are the written summaries above search results. How they choose their sources, and what that means for your pages.
- AI visibility scoreAn AI visibility score rolls up how often AI answers name and cite you into one number. How Keats weights it, and what it hides.
- AI visibilityAI visibility is how often AI assistants name your brand and cite your pages when buyers ask about what you sell, measured over many answers.
- Answer engineAn answer engine replies to a question with a written answer instead of a list of links: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI features.
- CitationA citation is a link an AI answer gives as its source. Being cited differs from being named, and it matters most on fact questions.
- Control questionsControl questions are tracked questions your change didn't target. If they rise as much as the targets, the market moved, not your page.
- Fan-out searchesQuery fan-out is the set of searches an AI assistant runs before it answers. They decide which pages it reads, and so which brands it names.
- GEO (generative engine optimization)Generative engine optimization, GEO, is another name for AEO: getting named and cited in AI-written answers. Where the term came from.
- llms.txtllms.txt is a proposed file that tells AI agents what's on your site and where to read it. What it does, what it doesn't, and whether to add one.
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is how AI agents like Claude and ChatGPT connect to outside tools. What it means for AEO work.
- Named firstNamed first is the share of AI answers that mention your brand before any rival. On buying questions, it's the number closest to a sale.
- Noise bandAI answers vary from one ask to the next. A noise band is the range a number moves by chance, so you can tell a real change from luck.
- Prompt trackingPrompt tracking means asking AI assistants a fixed set of buyers' questions every week and counting who gets named. How to choose them.
- Question tiersNot every question is worth the same. Tier 1 is buying, tier 2 is preparing, tier 3 is facts; each has its own aim and its own weight.
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