Local and AI search glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms used in local SEO and AI search, from AEO and AI Overviews to NAP, citations and schema.

AI citation: A link to a website shown as a source inside an AI-generated answer. AI citation counts are a common way to measure AI search visibility. Read the guide
AI Overviews: Google's AI-generated summaries shown above or among search results for some queries, with links to the sources they draw on. Read the guide
AI search visibility: How often, and how favorably, a business is mentioned or cited when people ask AI assistants and AI search features questions in its category. Read the guide
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): The practice of structuring a business's content, data and reputation so that AI assistants and AI search features cite it or recommend it directly in their answers, rather than only listing it among search results. Read the guide
Entity: A distinct, identifiable thing, such as a business, a person or a place, that search engines and AI systems recognize and connect to facts and to other entities, independent of the exact words used to describe it. Read the guide
GBP primary category: The single main category chosen for a Google Business Profile. It is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which local searches a business is relevant to. Read the guide
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Optimizing content to be retrieved, quoted and cited by generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features. In practice the term overlaps heavily with AEO. Read the guide
Geo-grid rank tracking: Measuring a business's local ranking from many points on a grid around its location, which shows how visibility changes across a service area rather than from a single spot.
Google AI Mode: A conversational search experience in Google Search that answers questions with an AI-generated response and cited sources, and supports follow-up questions. Read the guide
Google Business Profile (GBP): Google's free business listing that appears in Google Maps and in local results, showing a business's name, address, hours, categories, photos, reviews and other details. Read the guide
Knowledge panel: The information box Google shows for a recognized entity, drawn from its Knowledge Graph, with facts such as a description, key people and official profiles.
llms.txt: A proposed plain-text file at a website's root that gives language models a concise map of the site's most important content. It is a community proposal, not a standard that search engines are required to follow.
Local citation: Any online mention of a business's name, address and phone number, such as a directory listing, a data-aggregator record or a social profile. (In local SEO, "citation" means a listing; in AI search it means a source link.) Read the guide
Local ranking factors (relevance, distance, prominence): The three factors Google says determine local results: how well a listing matches the search, how far the business is from the searcher or the searched location, and how well known the business is. Read the guide
LocalBusiness schema: The schema.org type, and its subtypes such as Dentist or Plumber, used to describe a local business's name, address, hours, geo-coordinates and service area in structured data. Read the guide
Map Pack: The block of local business listings with a map that Google shows for searches with local intent, usually three businesses. Read the guide
NAP: A business's name, address and phone number. NAP consistency means these details match everywhere the business is listed online. Read the guide
Open Knowledge Format (OKF): An open specification from Google Cloud for packaging knowledge as a directory of Markdown files with YAML frontmatter, so different AI agents can read the same knowledge without conversion.
Review velocity: The rate at which a business receives new reviews over time. A steady flow of recent reviews is generally treated as a stronger trust signal than a large but old total. Read the guide
Service-area business (SAB): A business that serves customers at their locations, such as a plumber or a cleaner, rather than at a storefront. On Google Business Profile it can hide its address and list service areas instead. Read the guide
Share of voice (AI): The share of relevant AI answers that mention or cite a given brand, compared with its competitors, across a fixed set of prompts. Read the guide
Structured data (schema markup): Machine-readable code, usually JSON-LD using the schema.org vocabulary, that describes a page's content (a business, a product, an article or an FAQ) so search engines and AI systems can interpret it reliably. Read the guide
Zero-click search: A search where the user gets their answer on the results page itself, from a featured snippet, a knowledge panel, a Map Pack or an AI answer, without clicking through to a website.