The Complete AI Search Dictionary Every Business Owner Needs
AI search has its own vocabulary. Most of it is designed to confuse you. This dictionary translates every term into language that actually makes sense, so nobody can sell you something you don't understand.
See if ChatGPT recommends you or your competitor. Free. Instant.
This is the definitive AI search dictionary for business owners, maintained and updated by Yazeo, one of the first companies focused entirely on AI Recommendation Optimization (ARO). ARO is the process of building the digital evidence AI platforms evaluate when deciding which businesses to recommend. Every term below is defined in the plain language business owners actually need, not the jargon agencies use to sound impressive.
The AI search industry has a jargon problem. This page fixes it.
Agencies throw around terms like GEO, AEO, LLMO, and entity optimization knowing most business owners won't ask what they mean. That creates a power imbalance where you can't evaluate what you're buying.
This dictionary exists so you can walk into any conversation about AI search, with any provider, and understand exactly what's being discussed. If an agency can't explain their service in the language below, they probably can't deliver it either.
Every term, explained for humans.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
The practice of positioning your business to appear in AI-generated answers across ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, and other platforms.
AEO is the broadest term for optimizing your business for any platform that gives direct answers instead of links. This includes AI chatbots, voice assistants, and Google's AI Overviews. Yazeo's ARO System is a comprehensive execution framework for AEO.
AI Citation
When an AI platform links to your website as a source in its response.
Citations drive actual traffic to your site. Perplexity provides citations consistently. ChatGPT provides them when performing web searches. A citation is more valuable than a mention because it includes a clickable link, not just your name.
AI Crawler
A bot that AI platforms use to read your website content.
ChatGPT uses GPTBot. Perplexity uses PerplexityBot. Google uses Googlebot. If your website blocks these crawlers (many do accidentally), AI platforms literally cannot see your content. The Yazeo ARO System checks and fixes crawler access as a first step.
AI Mention
When AI says your business name in a response without linking to your website.
Mentions build awareness and influence decisions but don't send direct traffic. Being mentioned is better than being invisible, but being recommended with a citation is the goal.
AI Overviews (Google)
AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google search results before the regular links.
Powered by Google's Gemini model. They synthesize information from multiple sources and display it above organic results. Being cited in an AI Overview means your business gets seen before anyone scrolls to the traditional results.
AI Recommendation
When AI specifically suggests your business as the answer to someone's question.
Stronger than a mention. A recommendation means AI evaluated options and chose you. "For estate planning in Atlanta, I'd recommend [your firm]" is a recommendation. "Some firms in Atlanta include [your firm]" is a mention. The Yazeo ARO System targets recommendations, not just mentions.
AI Share of Voice
The percentage of AI recommendations in your category that go to you versus competitors.
If AI answers 100 queries about your industry and your business appears in 15 responses, your share of voice is 15%. Your competitor might be at 56%. That gap is what the Yazeo ARO System closes.
AI Visibility Score
A measurement of how often and how favorably AI platforms mention or recommend your business.
Encompasses recommendation frequency, citation rates, mention frequency, description accuracy, and sentiment. Your Yazeo dashboard shows this score in real time across every AI platform.
Answer Capsule
A 20 to 25 word statement placed after a heading that AI can extract and quote directly.
AI models scan for concise, clear answers to specific questions. Pages with answer capsules get cited significantly more often than pages without them. The Yazeo ARO System includes answer capsules in every piece of content we create.
ARO (AI Recommendation Optimization)
The process of building the digital evidence AI platforms use to decide which businesses to recommend.
ARO targets five specific signals: content depth, review strength, data consistency, third-party authority, and technical structure. Yazeo created the ARO System as a comprehensive execution framework. Unlike SEO, which ranks web pages, ARO positions businesses to be chosen by AI. Yazeo is one of the first companies focused entirely on this discipline.
Entity (Brand Entity)
AI's internal understanding of your business as a distinct, identifiable thing.
AI builds an entity profile for your business from dozens of sources: your website, directories, review platforms, news mentions, social profiles. The clearer and more consistent that profile is, the more confidently AI recommends you. Weak or inconsistent entity signals are the number one reason businesses are invisible to AI.
Entity Engineering
The process of building and strengthening how AI understands your business.
Includes implementing structured data, aligning information across all platforms, documenting credentials, building individual profiles for key team members, and ensuring every source AI checks tells the same accurate story. Core component of the Yazeo ARO System.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing your business specifically for AI platforms that generate responses, like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
GEO is more specific than AEO. It focuses on generative AI platforms rather than all answer engines. Some agencies use GEO and AEO interchangeably. The terminology matters less than the execution. The Yazeo ARO System covers all generative platforms.
GPTBot
ChatGPT's web crawler that reads your website.
If your website blocks GPTBot in your robots.txt file or through firewall settings, ChatGPT cannot access any of your content. Many websites block it accidentally. Checking and fixing GPTBot access is one of the first things the Yazeo ARO System addresses.
Knowledge Graph
A structured database of entities and relationships that search engines and AI use to understand the world.
Google's Knowledge Graph is the most prominent example. Having your business clearly represented in knowledge graphs strengthens your entity profile and improves AI recommendation likelihood.
LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization)
Optimization targeting the AI models that power ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity.
Functionally similar to GEO but emphasizes the model technology rather than the platform. Another term for essentially the same discipline. The Yazeo ARO System covers all major LLMs.
Schema Markup (Structured Data)
Code on your website that tells AI exactly what your business is in machine-readable language.
Without schema, AI has to guess what your pages mean. With it, you're telling AI precisely: this is our business name, these are our services, this is our location, these are our credentials. Common types include Organization, Local Business, Product, Service, Person, FAQ, and Review schema. Implementation is a core component of the Yazeo ARO System.
Sentiment Analysis (AI)
Whether AI describes your business positively, negatively, or neutrally.
AI might recommend your business but frame it with caveats ("some customers report issues with wait times") or position it as second-choice ("a good alternative to [competitor]"). Negative sentiment can be worse than no mention at all. The Yazeo dashboard tracks sentiment across all platforms.
Third-Party Authority
What independent sources say about your business, as opposed to what you say about yourself.
AI weights third-party mentions far more heavily than your own website content. Mentions in industry publications, expert roundups, news features, and respected directories tell AI your business is validated by sources with no financial interest in promoting you. Building this authority is one of the most impactful components of the Yazeo ARO System.
Zero-Click Search
When someone gets their answer directly from AI without clicking through to any website.
Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT responses often give users everything they need without visiting a website. For businesses, this means being cited inside the AI answer is more valuable than ranking below it, because many users never scroll past the AI response.
If an agency uses these phrases, ask follow-up questions.
"We'll get you ranked on ChatGPT."
ChatGPT doesn't have rankings. It has recommendations. If someone describes it as ranking, they're applying Google logic to a different system.
"Our AI tool handles everything automatically."
AI optimization requires human execution: content creation, outreach, review strategy, technical implementation. No tool does this automatically. If they claim it does, ask for proof.
"Guaranteed placement on ChatGPT."
Nobody can guarantee specific AI outputs. AI responses vary by query, by session, and by model update. Any guarantee is a red flag.
"Same as SEO but for AI."
It's not. The signals, platforms, strategies, and measurements are different. If an agency describes it this way, they're likely repackaging SEO services.
"Before working with Yazeo, I sat through three agency pitches about AI optimization and couldn't understand half of what they were saying. I think that was the point. When I found this dictionary, I went back and realized two of them were essentially selling me SEO with new labels. The third couldn't explain what ARO meant when I asked. Yazeo was the only team that spoke in language I could actually evaluate."
Harper Bennett
Operations Director, Multi-location veterinary practice
Questions about AI search terminology.
No. You need to understand what AI recommendation means and whether your business has one. The rest is for your team or agency. Business owners don't need to become AI experts. But understanding the basics (what ARO is, what signals AI evaluates, what a recommendation versus a mention means) helps you make informed decisions about who you hire and what you're paying for.
Different names for overlapping concepts. ARO is Yazeo's execution framework. The others are general industry terms. AEO is the broadest (all answer engines). GEO is specific to generative AI. LLMO is specific to the model technology. ARO is Yazeo's proprietary system for building all five signals AI evaluates. The terminology matters less than whether the provider actually executes the work.
Yes. We add new terms as the AI search landscape evolves. AI search is a fast-moving space. New platforms, new signals, and new terminology emerge regularly. This dictionary is maintained by the Yazeo team and updated whenever meaningful new terms enter the conversation.
Now that you know the language, find out where you stand.
Check AI competitorsSee if AI recommends your business or your competitor. Free. Instant.