Glossary
AI search glossary
The vocabulary of AI search visibility, defined plainly. GEO, AEO, LLMO and the metrics behind them, without the jargon fog.
AI Search
Search that answers with a synthesised response instead of a ranked list of links.
AI Visibility
How often and how prominently a brand appears in AI-generated answers across models and prompts.
Answer Engine
A system that responds to a question with a direct answer rather than a list of links.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Optimizing so answer engines surface and cite your brand as the answer, not just a link.
Brand Hallucination
When an AI model states something false or outdated about your brand as if it were fact.
Citation Source
A page an AI answer draws on and links to, revealing what shaped the response.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
The practice of optimizing content and brand presence so generative AI engines mention and cite you in their answers.
Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO)
Shaping how large language models describe, mention and recommend your brand in their outputs.
Neural Cluster Influence (NCI)
Whaily’s proprietary 1-100 score for how much a source shapes AI answers in your category.
Share of Voice
Your share of category brand mentions in AI answers, relative to competitors rather than in absolute terms.
These terms all point at one question: does AI mention your brand? Whaily answers it with real measurement across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.