AI visibility glossary: plain-English terms

The terms

AI assistant: A tool such as ChatGPT or Google's Gemini that answers questions in written sentences. When someone asks it for a business, it replies with a few names rather than a page of links.
AI visibility: Whether, and how accurately, AI assistants mention your business when people ask for what you do. It's the plain-English name for what this site checks.
AI ranking check: Asking AI assistants the questions your customers ask and recording whether you're named, roughly where, and who's named instead. A snapshot, not a guarantee. Read more about AI ranking check
GEO (generative engine optimisation): Work that makes a business easier for AI assistants to find, understand and mention. Mostly the same groundwork as good local marketing. Read more about GEO (generative engine optimisation)
AEO (answer engine optimisation): Another name for much the same idea as GEO: making your information easy for tools that give direct answers to use.
SEO (search engine optimisation): Work that helps a website appear in search engine results. It overlaps heavily with GEO. Read more about SEO (search engine optimisation)
Training data: The very large collection of text an AI model learnt from, gathered up to a certain date. A business that appeared after that date may be unknown to answers drawn only from training.
Web search (in an assistant): Some assistants look things up on the web while answering. That lets them use newer information, if it exists and is clear.
Citation or source link: A link an assistant shows to say where part of its answer came from. Not every assistant shows them, and not every answer has them.
Hallucination: When an AI assistant states something that isn't true, such as wrong opening hours or a service you don't offer. Often a sign the information it found was unclear or out of date. Read more about Hallucination
NAP consistency: Your business Name, Address and Phone number written exactly the same everywhere: website, Google Business Profile and directories. Inconsistent details make you harder to identify.
Google Business Profile: Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps, with hours, category, photos and reviews. One of the main places your business details live.
Structured data (schema markup): Code on a web page that labels facts such as your address or opening hours for machines. Helpful, but no substitute for clear words on the page.
Prompt: The question or instruction someone types into an AI assistant. For a business, the prompts that matter are the ones customers use, like 'emergency plumber near Stamford'.
Share of answers: Out of a set of customer-style questions, how often your business is named. A useful way to track change over time, as long as the questions stay the same.

See where you stand first. It's free.

We ask ChatGPT and Google's Gemini the kind of questions your customers ask, then email you whether you were named, roughly where, and who was suggested instead. A person reviews your check before we send it, usually within 2 working days.

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Questions people ask

Which of these terms do I actually need to know?

Very few. If you understand that assistants answer from what they learnt in training and what they can look up, and that clear, consistent information helps, you know the essentials.

Is 'AI ranking' a real ranking like Google's?

Not in the same sense. Assistants write a fresh answer each time, and the order of names can change between askings. That's why we describe positions as 'roughly where' and recommend looking at patterns.

Can you explain a term that isn't here?

Our guides and quick answers go into more depth on most of them. The free check email itself is written in plain English, so you shouldn't need a glossary to read it.

AI visibility, in plain English.