AEO Glossary: Key Terms in Plain English

A short reference to the terms used throughout the library. For a full explanation, explore the relevant topic category.

AEO

Answer engine optimisation: work intended to make information more useful and discoverable in answer experiences.

The preferred URL for a substantially equivalent page, communicated through consistent technical signals.

A reference to a source. Its presence does not establish that the source supports every statement in an answer.

Whether a crawler can request a resource. This is distinct from whether it is indexed or selected.

A numerical representation used for tasks such as similarity comparison and retrieval.

An identifiable person, organisation, place or concept.

Generative engine optimisation, a term commonly used for visibility work concerning generative systems.

Connecting an answer to available information or evidence.

Whether a page is eligible for inclusion in a search index.

A representation of entities and relationships between them.

A supported directive asking a search engine not to include a resource in its index.

Retrieval-augmented generation: combining information retrieval with a generated response.

The underlying task or information need behind a query.

Machine-readable information describing a page or entity using a vocabulary and format.

An editorial plan connecting distinct questions and concepts within a broader subject.