> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getcited.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

> A-Z glossary of answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) terminology — definitions for every metric, concept, and technique in AI visibility.

A reference glossary of the terms, metrics, and concepts used across Cited's documentation and platform. Each term links to a short definitional entry with context on why it matters and how Cited uses it.

## A

* [AI Overview](/glossary/ai-overview) — Google's AI-generated answer box at the top of some search results
* [AI Shelf](/glossary/ai-shelf) — the set of brands an AI mentions in response to a category query
* [Answer Engine](/glossary/answer-engine) — an AI platform that generates synthesized answers rather than link lists
* [Authority Signal](/glossary/authority-signal) — indicators that a source is trustworthy and expert on a topic
* [Average Position](/glossary/average-position) — mean rank at which a brand appears in AI citation lists

## B

* [Brand Mention](/glossary/brand-mention) — any appearance of a brand name in an AI-generated response

## C

* [Citation](/glossary/citation) — a clickable link to a source URL in an AI-generated answer
* [Citation Rate](/glossary/citation-rate) — percentage of AI responses linking to a brand's domain
* [Citation Source](/glossary/citation-source) — the specific web page or domain an AI links to as a source
* [Competitor Gap](/glossary/competitor-gap) — a query where competitors appear but your brand does not
* [Content Freshness](/glossary/content-freshness) — how recently a page's content was published or updated
* [Crawl Budget](/glossary/crawl-budget) — the number of pages a crawler will fetch from a site in a given period

## E

* [E-E-A-T](/glossary/e-e-a-t) — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
* [Editorial Citation](/glossary/editorial-citation) — a citation to an editorial publication rather than a brand's own domain

## G

* [AEO/GEO](/glossary/geo) — answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization
* [GEO Confidence Score](/glossary/geo-confidence-score) — how statistically reliable a brand's AI visibility metrics are
* [GEO Score](/glossary/geo-score) — composite assessment of a website's technical readiness for AI discoverability
* [Grounding](/glossary/grounding) — connecting LLM-generated text to specific factual sources

## H

* [Hallucination](/glossary/hallucination) — when an LLM generates factually incorrect or fabricated information

## I

* [Intent Type](/glossary/intent-type) — the category of purpose behind a user's query

## L

* [LLM](/glossary/llm) — Large Language Model
* [llms.txt](/glossary/llms-txt) — a plain-text file that tells AI crawlers which pages to prioritize

## M

* [Mention Rate](/glossary/mention-rate) — percentage of prompts where an AI mentions a brand
* [Model Deprecation](/glossary/model-deprecation) — when an AI provider retires or replaces a model version

## N

* [Non-Branded Query](/glossary/non-branded-query) — a prompt that asks about a category without naming a brand
* [Non-Determinism](/glossary/non-determinism) — the property causing LLMs to produce different responses to the same prompt

## P

* [Perplexity Sonar](/glossary/perplexity-sonar) — Perplexity's API model for programmatic search queries
* [Position Bias](/glossary/position-bias) — disproportionate attention given to items listed first
* [Prompt Engineering](/glossary/prompt-engineering) — crafting inputs to LLMs that reflect real customer language

## Q

* [Query Archetype](/glossary/query-archetype) — structural categories of queries (problem-first, comparison, etc.)
* [Query Intent](/glossary/query-intent) — the underlying purpose of a user's query

## R

* [RAG](/glossary/rag) — Retrieval-Augmented Generation
* [Recency Bias](/glossary/recency-bias) — LLMs' tendency to favor recently published content

## S

* [Schema Markup](/glossary/schema-markup) — structured data that helps LLMs understand content
* [Sentiment](/glossary/sentiment) — how an AI characterizes a brand (positive, neutral, negative, mixed)
* [SERP](/glossary/serp) — Search Engine Results Page
* [Share of Voice](/glossary/share-of-voice) — a brand's share of total AI mentions in its category
* [Source Affinity](/glossary/source-affinity) — a platform's observed preference for certain source types
* [Structured Data](/glossary/structured-data) — machine-readable information embedded in web pages

## T

* [Topic Taxonomy](/glossary/topic-taxonomy) — hierarchical classification of topics for visibility analysis