Glossary

Glossary: SEO, AEO, GEO and AXO explained

Short, direct definitions of the terms you need to understand how AI sees you.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization: getting Google and other search engines to crawl, index and rank your site.

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization: making it possible for answer engines to extract and cite direct answers from your site through structure, Q&A, structured data and llms.txt.

GEO

Generative Engine Optimization: getting models to recommend your brand. It depends mostly on mentions in external sources and on a consistent entity.

AXO

Agent Experience Optimization: making it possible for an AI agent to quote, book or buy on your site without friction.

Frequently asked questions

What is llms.txt?

A file at the root of a site that summarizes for language models what's on it and where to find what matters.

Does structured data guarantee AI will cite me?

No. It helps engines understand your content, but it doesn't guarantee citations or recommendations.