AEO Glossary

Expert definitions, real-world examples, and practical insights for SEO professionals, marketers, and business owners working with AI-powered search optimization.

AI Citation

A reference or attribution made by an AI system to a specific source when generating responses, indicating where the information originated.

Answer Engine Optimization Updated 9/2/2025

AI Hallucination

When an AI system generates information that appears confident and plausible but is factually incorrect, fabricated, or unsupported by its training data or retrieved sources.

AI Updated 11/17/2025

AI Overview

A feature in Google Search that displays AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, synthesizing information from multiple sources to directly answer user queries.

AI Updated 9/2/2025

AI Search

A new paradigm of information retrieval where artificial intelligence systems generate direct answers to queries by synthesizing information from multiple sources, rather than returning a list of links.

AI Updated 9/2/2025

AI Visibility

The measure of how often and prominently your content is referenced, cited, or mentioned by AI-powered systems and answer engines.

Answer Engine Optimization Updated 9/2/2025

Alt Text

Alternative text descriptions for images that serve accessibility needs, provide context when images can't load, and help search engines and AI systems understand visual content.

SEO Updated 11/29/2025

Anchor Text

The visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that signals to search engines and AI systems what the linked page is about, influencing both SEO value and contextual understanding.

SEO Updated 12/19/2025

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

The practice of optimizing content to be surfaced and cited by AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

Answer Engine Optimization Updated 9/2/2024

Backlinks

Incoming hyperlinks from external websites to your site, serving as endorsements that signal authority, credibility, and relevance to both search engines and AI systems.

SEO Updated 10/13/2025

Brand Mention

An instance where an AI system references, recommends, or discusses a specific brand, product, or company in its generated response, whether with or without a direct link.

Marketing Updated 10/9/2025

Canonical Tags

HTML elements that specify the preferred version of a webpage when duplicate or similar content exists across multiple URLs, helping search engines and AI systems avoid content confusion.