Twelve AI search terms, each defined in one sentence and then in its source's own words, dated and linked: Google's for ten, a Princeton paper's for GEO, Moz's for local citation. Google's line that it is all still SEO is here, and so is its sentence about agencies like us.
Every entry below gives our one-sentence definition first, then the source's own words in quotation marks, then the source with the date the page states and the day we read it. Google changes these pages without notice; the quotes are what they said on 2 October 2026, Pacific time, and the links go to the live pages.
- SEO
- AEO
- GEO
- Google on agencies
- AI Overviews
- AI Mode
- How AI Overviews choose their sources
- Query fan-out
- RAG
- Citation
- Local citation
- Inclusion in Search generative AI features
- llms.txt
TermSEO, search engine optimization
The work of making a page the result a search engine shows and a person clicks: the content, the structure, the speed, the links, and now the answer engines too.
Google's own position on where the newer terms fit: "From Google Search's perspective, optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO."
TermAEO, answer engine optimization
Work aimed at being seen in AI search experiences, the ones that answer a question directly; Google gives the two-sentence definition below and no more.
Google's definition: "'AEO' stands for 'answer engine optimization' and 'GEO' for 'generative engine optimization'. These are both terms you may see used to describe work specifically focused on improving visibility in AI search experiences."
Who coined it we have not settled. Kalicube's own page says "Coined by Jason Barnard in 2017" and cites a Search Engine Watch article of 7 February 2018 as the first independent record; that article would not load for us on the day, so we do not state an originator.
Source: Kalicube, "Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)", kalicube.pro, read 2 October 2026, Pacific time.
TermGEO, generative engine optimization
The same aim as AEO, named by a research paper: improving how often a generative engine (a search engine that writes its answer) uses and shows your content.
The term comes from a November 2023 paper by six researchers, three of them at Princeton, who "introduce Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), a novel paradigm to aid content creators in improving the visibility of their content in GE responses" (GE is the paper's short form for generative engine). Their generative engines are "search engines that use generative models to gather and summarize information to answer user queries". The methods that did best in the paper were citing sources, adding quotations and adding statistics; stuffing keywords did not work.
Google treats GEO as it treats AEO: still SEO, with the warning quoted under the next heading.
TermWhat Google says about agencies that sell AEO or GEO
Google tells site owners weighing AEO or GEO services to read its guidance on evaluating third-party SEO advice. We sell this work, so here is the sentence in full.
"If you're considering third-party 'AEO' or 'GEO' advice or services, review our guidance on evaluating third-party SEO advice." The same guide's first recommendation is the one we would make too: "Creating content that people find unique, compelling, and useful will likely influence your website's presence in generative AI search in the long run more than any of the other suggestions in this guide."
TermAI Overviews
Google's AI-generated snapshot of an answer on a results page, with links to dig deeper; shown on some searches, not all.
Google's description: "AI Overviews can take the work out of searching by providing an AI-generated snapshot with key information and links to dig deeper." They do not appear on every search: "AI Overviews are only shown when our systems determine that it is additive to classic Search, and as such, often don't trigger." And Google's own caveat: "AI Overviews can and will make mistakes."
TermAI Mode
Google's AI search feature for questions that need more than one search: the person asks a nuanced question and gets an AI-powered response with links to supporting websites.
Google: "AI Mode is particularly helpful for queries where further exploration, reasoning, or complex comparisons are needed." Its people "can ask nuanced questions that might have previously taken multiple searches" and, in Google's words, "get a comprehensive AI-powered response with links to supporting websites". The eligibility rules below apply to AI Mode as they do to AI Overviews.
TermHow AI Overviews choose their sources
Through Google's ordinary ranking systems: the model is built to show only what top web results back up, retrieves those pages, and links to them.
Google's clearest statement: "While AI Overviews are powered by a customized language model, the model is integrated with our core web ranking systems and designed to carry out traditional 'search' tasks, like identifying relevant, high-quality results from our index. That's why AI Overviews don't just provide text output, but include relevant links so people can explore further. Because accuracy is paramount in Search, AI Overviews are built to only show information that is backed up by top web results."
Its developer guide says the same in more detail: the generative features "are rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems", retrieve pages through those systems, and show "prominent, clickable links to relevant web pages that support the information in the response". Its page on AI features gives the condition for being one of those pages: "a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet, fulfilling the Search technical requirements. There are no additional technical requirements." And: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features. There's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add."
One Search Console condition matters: "a site must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console to be eligible for display in generative AI features on Google Search."
TermQuery fan-out
The model's habit of turning one question into several related searches and gathering results for all of them before it answers.
Google: "Query fan-out: A set of concurrent, related queries generated by the model to request more information and fetch additional relevant search results to address the user's query." On what it means for your pages: "While responses are being generated, our advanced models identify more supporting web pages, allowing us to display a wider and more diverse set of helpful links associated with the response than with a classic web search, enabling new opportunities for exploration."
TermRAG, retrieval-augmented generation
The technique behind the answer: the model retrieves current pages from the search index first, then writes from them, instead of answering from memory alone.
Google's definition: "Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): A technique (also known as grounding) used to improve the quality, accuracy, and freshness of AI responses by relying on our core Search ranking systems to retrieve relevant, up-to-date web pages from our Search index. Our systems then review the specific information from those retrieved pages to generate a more reliable and helpful response, showing prominent, clickable links to relevant web pages that support the information in the response."
TermCitation, in an AI answer
The link or named source an AI answer shows as support for a statement it makes. Google calls these supporting links.
Google does not use the word "citation" for this; it says "supporting link", "links to supporting information from the web", and "prominent, clickable links to relevant web pages that support the information in the response". A page becomes one by being "indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet". Tool vendors call the same thing a mention or a cite. It is a different thing from a local citation, the next entry.
TermLocal citation
A listing of a business's name, address and phone number on another site: a directory, a map, a chamber page. Not a Google term; the sense local search has used for years.
Moz's definition: "A local citation is any online mention of a business's name, address, and phone number". Consistency across those listings is what matters for local search, and it is a wholly separate thing from being cited in an AI answer. When this site says "citation" without "local", it means the AI-answer sense above.
TermInclusion in Search generative AI features, in Search Console
Google's condition that a site be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console before its pages can appear in those features; the guide names Search Console as the place to check it and to measure.
Google: "a site must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console to be eligible for display in generative AI features on Google Search." The same guide says where to measure: "To measure how your content is performing in generative AI features on Google Search and Discover, use the Generative AI performance report in Search Console."
Termllms.txt
A proposed text file for AI crawlers, modelled on robots.txt. Google says it does not need one, or any other AI file, to show your pages in its AI features.
Google: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features." Other answer engines publish their own crawler documentation; read it before adding a file for them.
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Do I need special markup or an llms.txt file to appear in AI Overviews?
Not for Google. Its developer documentation says "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features. There's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add." A page needs to be indexed, eligible for a snippet, and the site included in Search generative AI features in Search Console.
My page ranks on Google. Why is it not in the AI Overview?
Three reasons in Google's own documentation. AI Overviews "often don't trigger" at all, because they are shown only when Google judges them additive to classic Search. The answer is built "to only show information that is backed up by top web results" (Google's AI Overviews post of 30 May 2024), and it may use query fan-out, "a set of concurrent, related queries generated by the model", so the links it shows can come from those related searches rather than the one you rank for. And the site must be included in generative AI features in Search Console.
Is a citation in an AI answer the same as a local citation?
No. A citation in an AI answer is a link or named source the answer shows as support for a statement; Google calls it a supporting link. A local citation is a listing of a business's name, address and phone number on another site, the thing local search has counted for years.