GEO
GEO Glossary
A quick reference to the core concepts of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — from GEO, AEO, and Share of Model to RAG, structured data, and entity linking.
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
- The practice of optimizing a brand so that generative AI engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and others) recommend, cite, and accurately describe it in their answers.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Optimizing pages to rank higher in traditional search engines (Google, Bing, Baidu) where users click through links. GEO extends SEO to AI-generated answers.
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
- Optimizing content to win featured snippets and direct answer cards by structuring Q&A content and FAQ schema. AEO is a subset of GEO focused on the answer surface.
- GEO Score
- XOOER's proprietary brand-visibility score that quantifies a brand's authority across major AI models, combining Share of Model, ranking, citation, sentiment, and accuracy.
- RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
- A technique where an AI model retrieves relevant documents at query time and grounds its answer in them. Being in the retrievable corpus is key to being cited.
- LLM (Large Language Model)
- A model trained on vast text that generates human-like answers — the engine behind ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Doubao, and Tongyi Qianwen.
- AI Search
- Search that returns a synthesized answer with citations instead of a list of links — the shift GEO is built for.
- Citation Rate
- How often an AI model cites a brand as a source in its answers. Higher citation rate signals stronger authority and trust for that brand.
- Entity Linking
- Connecting a brand name to a single, unambiguous entity (across languages and aliases) so AI models recognize it consistently. schema.org alternateName helps.
- Knowledge Graph
- A structured network of entities and their relationships that AI and search engines use to understand and answer about brands, people, and products.
- llms.txt
- An emerging text file at a site root that gives AI crawlers a curated, machine-readable summary of the site — its services, facts, and key pages.
- Structured Data (JSON-LD)
- Machine-readable schema.org markup (Organization, FAQPage, Article, Product) embedded in a page so engines can parse facts precisely instead of guessing.
- Grounding
- Tying an AI answer to verifiable sources so it is accurate rather than hallucinated. Well-structured, citable content improves grounding for a brand.
- Hallucination
- When an AI model states confident but false information about a brand. Authoritative structured data and consistent facts reduce brand hallucinations.
- Digital PR
- Earning authoritative mentions and citations across the web so AI models encounter a brand repeatedly in trusted sources, raising its recommendation odds.