Search and AI terms, in plain English.

A

AEO Answer engine optimization#

Making your business the answer AI tools give when someone asks about your service or your area. For a local business, that means being named when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Google’s AI who to call.

AI Mode#

A Google search mode where an AI answers your question in a back-and-forth conversation, with links to its sources. It is newer than AI Overviews and still changing.

AI Overviews#

The AI-written summary Google shows above the regular results for many searches. It often names businesses and links to the pages it drew from.

AI authority site#

A site Known builds and runs for a client, designed to be a source AI engines cite when customers in their area ask who to call.

B

Backlink#

A link to your website from another website. Links from relevant, trusted sites help search engines judge how credible your site is.

C

Citation#

Two meanings. In AI answers, a citation is a source the answer names or links to, like your website or a review site. In local SEO, it is any listing of your business name, address and phone number on another site, such as a directory.

Core Web Vitals#

Google’s measurements of how a page feels to use: how fast the main content loads, how quickly it responds to a tap, and whether things jump around while it loads.

CRO Conversion rate optimization#

Changing your pages so more of the people who visit call, book or fill in a form.

E

E-E-A-T Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trust#

A framework Google uses to describe what trustworthy content looks like. It is not a single score or a direct ranking factor, but the signals behind it, like real expertise and a good reputation, matter.

Entity#

A specific, identifiable thing: your business, a person, a place. Search engines and AI tools connect facts to entities, so consistent details about your business help them describe you correctly.

G

GEO Generative engine optimization#

Another name for getting your business into AI-generated answers. In practice it means the same thing as AEO.

Google Business Profile#

Your free listing on Google Search and Maps, with your hours, reviews, photos, services and directions. For local searches it is often the first thing people see.

I

Indexing#

When a search engine has found a page and stored it so it can appear in results. A page that is not indexed cannot rank.

K

Keyword#

A word or phrase people type into a search engine, like “emergency plumber Denver.” With AI tools, people tend to ask full questions instead, so pages need to answer those questions clearly.

L

LLM Large language model#

The kind of AI behind tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. It writes answers by drawing on what it learned in training and, in many tools, on live web results.

llms.txt#

A proposed text file that gives AI tools a short, plain summary of what a website is about. It is a proposal, not an official standard, and AI tools don’t all read it.

Local pack Also called the map pack#

The map and short list of nearby businesses Google shows for local searches, like “dentist near me.”

N

NAP Name, address, phone#

Your business name, address and phone number. Keeping them identical everywhere you are listed helps search engines and AI tools trust the details.

O

Organic results#

The regular, unpaid search results, as opposed to ads.

P

Prompt#

The question or instruction someone types into an AI tool, like “Which med spa near me is best for Botox?”

S

Schema markup#

Code added to a page that labels information for machines, such as your hours, services, reviews or FAQs. It helps search engines and AI tools read your pages accurately.

SEO Search engine optimization#

The work that helps your website and Google Business Profile show up when people search Google and Maps, in both the regular results and the local pack.

SERP Search engine results page#

The page you see after searching. Today it can include ads, the local pack, an AI Overview and the regular results.

Z

Zero-click search#

A search where the person gets what they need on the results page itself, from an AI Overview, a snippet or a business listing, without clicking through to a website.