Glossary
AI search & GEO glossary
Plain definitions of the terms behind AI visibility and brand monitoring,
from share of voice to AI brand sentiment.
Agentic commerce
Agentic commerce is shopping where an AI agent researches, compares and, with your approval, buys for you. How it works and how brands make the shortlist.
AI brand mentions
AI brand mentions are brand names in the text of AI answers. Learn what counts as a mention, the 5 mention types, and how to measure and track them over time.
AI brand sentiment
AI brand sentiment measures whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI describe your brand positively, neutrally or negatively. Learn how to track and improve it.
AI citations
AI citations are the sources an AI engine links in its answer. Learn how they differ from mentions and how to measure citation rate and link position.
AI crawlers
AI crawlers are the bots AI companies use to read web pages for model training, AI search indexes and live answers. Main user agents and how to control them.
AI hallucination
An AI hallucination is a false or invented claim an AI model states as fact. Why they happen, which ones hurt brands (prices, features) and how to reduce them.
AI referral traffic
AI referral traffic is the visits your site gets when people click links in ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI answers. How to find and segment it in GA4.
AI reputation management
AI reputation management is monitoring and shaping how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI describe your brand: its facts, tone and context. How to do it.
AI search engine
An AI search engine uses language models to understand a query, search the web and write a summarized answer with sources. How it works and its types.
AI visibility
AI visibility measures how often and how well your brand appears in AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI. Learn how to track and improve it in 2026.
AI visibility score
An AI visibility score rolls mention rate, sentiment, share of voice and position into one number. Learn how the composite is built and what it can hide.
Answer engine
An answer engine replies to a question with one synthesized answer instead of a list of links. How answer engines work, examples, and what they mean for brands.
Answer engine optimization (AEO)
Answer engine optimization (AEO) makes your content the direct answer that AI assistants and search features give. How it works and how to measure it.
Citation share
Citation share is the percentage of sources cited in AI answers that point to your domain. Formula, worked example and how it differs from share of voice.
Content chunking
Content chunking splits a document into self-contained passages that AI systems can retrieve and quote on their own. How it works and how to write for it.
Conversational search
Conversational search lets you ask in natural language and refine with follow-ups while the engine keeps context. How it works and how brands can stay visible.
E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust, the qualities Google uses to judge reliable content. Why it matters in AI search.
Entity SEO
Entity SEO helps search engines and AI models recognize your brand as a well-defined entity with consistent facts. How it works and why AI search needs it.
Generative engine optimization (GEO)
Generative engine optimization (GEO) gets your brand cited and recommended in AI-generated answers. How it works, how to measure it and mistakes to avoid.
Google AI Mode
Google AI Mode: how to open it free at google.com/ai, use it on iPhone, Android or Chrome, fix 'not available', turn it off, Deep Search and ads.
Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are AI summaries shown above some search results, with links to their sources. How they work, why they matter and how to measure them.
GPTBot
GPTBot is OpenAI's web crawler for model training. How it differs from OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User, and how to allow or block it in robots.txt.
Grounding
Grounding anchors an AI answer in sources supplied at answer time, such as web results. How it works and why it changes which brands and pages AI engines cite.
Knowledge cutoff
A knowledge cutoff is the date after which an AI model has no training data. What it means for AI answers about your brand and why fresh coverage matters.
Large language model (LLM)
A large language model (LLM) is an AI model trained on vast amounts of text to generate language. How LLMs work and what they mean for your brand in AI answers.
LLM SEO (LLMO)
LLM SEO (LLMO) is the umbrella term for optimizing how large language models know, describe and recommend your brand, in training data and in live web answers.
llms.txt
llms.txt is a proposed file that gives AI models a clean map of your site. Learn what it is, how to create one, and whether engines actually use it in 2026.
Mention rate
Mention rate is the share of AI answers that name your brand. See the formula, a worked example, common mistakes and how Mencoro measures it as Coverage.
Prompt tracking
Prompt tracking runs a fixed set of prompts through AI engines on a schedule to measure how answers mention and cite your brand. How it works and how to start.
Prompt volume
Prompt volume is the estimated number of times people ask AI engines a prompt or topic. Why no engine publishes it, how tools estimate it and how to use it.
Query fan-out
Query fan-out is how AI search splits one question into many sub-queries and merges the results into one answer. How it works and what it means for content.
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) lets an AI model fetch documents before it answers. How RAG works in AI search and why it decides which pages get cited.
Search Generative Experience (SGE)
Search Generative Experience (SGE) was Google’s 2023 experiment with AI answers in search, which became AI Overviews in 2024. What it was and what replaced it.
Semantic search
Semantic search matches queries to content by meaning and intent, not exact keywords. How it works, why it shapes AI answers and how to write for it.
Share of model
Share of model measures how much of an AI model's answers in your category mention your brand versus competitors. Definition, formula and how to measure it.
Share of voice
Share of voice (SOV) measures the share of market conversation your brand owns versus competitors across social, search, PPC and AI. Definition, formula and tips.
Structured data for AI
Structured data for AI is schema.org markup describing your pages and brand as clear entities. What it does and does not do in AI search, and how to check it.
Topical authority
Topical authority is how far search engines and AI models trust a site or brand as a complete source on a subject. How to build it and how to measure it.
Unlinked brand mentions
Unlinked brand mentions name your brand on other sites without linking to yours. How to find them, when to ask for a link and why they matter for AI search.
Vector embeddings
Vector embeddings turn text into numbers that capture meaning, so AI systems can find similar content. How they work and what they change for your content.
Zero-click search
A zero-click search ends without a click to any website because the answer is already on the page. What causes it, how AI adds to it and how to measure it.
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