Glossary
Hreflang
An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and region a page targets. Essential for multilingual sites, hreflang prevents duplicate content and ensures the right language version appears for each user. AI systems also use these signals.
Real-world example
A hotel in Slovenia with a site in French, English, and Slovenian uses hreflang tags so Google shows the English version to English-speaking users.
See also
AI Citation
A mention of a website or business in an AI-generated response (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Mode). Unlike a regular Google link, an AI citation is a direct recommendation. Getting AI citations is the primary goal of GEO.
AI Crawlers
Web crawlers used by AI companies to browse and index web content. The main ones are GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot (Perplexity), and Bingbot (Microsoft Copilot). Allowing these crawlers is the first step in GEO.
Citable Content
Content written in a way that can be easily extracted and cited by AI. Citable content uses factual statements, structured lists, hard data, and Q&A formats. It's the opposite of vague or overly promotional content.
E-E-A-T
Acronym for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Criteria used by Google to evaluate content quality. AI systems pick up these signals too: content with an identified author, cited sources, and demonstrated expertise is more likely to be cited.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
The practice of structuring website content so that AI systems — ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot — can find, understand, and cite it in their answers. GEO goes beyond traditional SEO by optimizing for AI citation and recommendation rather than just search rankings.
Google AI Mode
A Google feature that generates AI-powered answers at the top of search results. Instead of just listing links, Google AI Mode synthesizes information and cites sources. For a local business, being cited in these answers has become as important as ranking in traditional results.