What does each term mean?
A short glossary of the words you hear most when people talk about AI and brand visibility. Each one explained in a line or two.
You do not need to memorise them. They are here for when you come across one of these words and want to know what it means.
- GEO
- Short for Generative Engine Optimization. The work of getting a brand into the answers AI assistants give.
- SEO
- Short for Search Engine Optimization. The work of getting a website well placed in the results of a search engine such as Google.
- AI assistant
- A program you ask in ordinary sentences and that answers with written text. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity are examples.
- LLM
- Short for Large Language Model. It is the technology behind an AI assistant: a system trained on a vast amount of text to understand and write.
- AI Overviews
- The AI-written summaries Google shows above the results for some searches.
- AI Mode
- A way of using Google in which the AI's answer takes the main place and you can keep asking, as in a conversation.
- Prompt
- The question or instruction you type to an AI. On this website we simply call it a “question”.
- Mention
- When AI names a brand in its answer.
- Recommendation
- When AI not only names a brand but puts it forward as a good option.
- Citation
- When AI indicates which page it took the information from, usually with a link.
- Structured data
- Labels added to a website that are not visible to the eye. They tell machines what each thing is: a company, a service, an address or a frequently asked question.
- Entity
- Something a machine recognises as unique and identifiable: a company, a person, a place or a product. The clearer your brand is as an entity, the less it gets confused with others.
- Source map
- The list of media and websites AI cites when it answers questions in a sector, showing where competitors appear and where your brand does not.
- PR
- Short for Public Relations, or media relations. The work of getting credible publications to talk about a brand because it has something interesting to say.
- AI Visibility Score
- BLOOMOX's score: the percentage of answers in which a brand appears when a fixed set of questions is put to several AI systems.
- Visibility audit
- BLOOMOX's audit: 40 real questions from customers in a sector, put to five AI systems, with a report and an action plan.
- Influencer
- Someone who publishes regularly about a topic and has a community that trusts their judgement. Also called a content creator.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know these terms to work with you?
No. Part of our job is explaining everything in plain language. This glossary is here for when you come across one of these words elsewhere.
Are AI Overviews and AI Mode the same thing?
No. AI Overviews is a summary that appears above Google's usual results. AI Mode is a way of searching in which the AI's answer is the main thing.
What is the difference between a mention and a recommendation?
In a mention, AI names your brand. In a recommendation it also puts it forward as a good option. That is why we measure the two separately.