AI marketing & AI-search glossary
Clear definitions of the terms behind modern marketing research — from generative engine optimization to the local pack — written so a non-developer can use them today.
AI search & visibility
How brands get found — and cited — inside ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and other AI answers.
Generative engine optimization (GEO)
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of getting your brand and pages cited inside AI-generated answers — ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini — instead of (or alongside) ranking a blue link.
More about Generative engine optimization (GEO)Answer engine optimization (AEO)
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is optimizing content so it becomes the direct answer an AI or search engine returns — in an AI Overview, a featured snippet, or a voice result — rather than one of ten links a user has to choose between.
More about Answer engine optimization (AEO)AI visibility
AI visibility is how often, and how favorably, your brand shows up inside AI answers — the share of AI responses to relevant prompts that mention or cite you versus your competitors.
More about AI visibilityLLM mention tracking
LLM mention tracking is monitoring whether — and how — large language models mention your brand, product, or domain when users ask about your category, across engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Mode.
More about LLM mention trackingGoogle AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries Google places at the top of many search results, answering the query directly and citing a handful of sources above the traditional blue links.
More about Google AI OverviewsAI search
AI search is any search experience where a language model reads the web and returns a synthesized, cited answer — ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini — instead of a ranked list of links.
More about AI searchZero-click search
A zero-click search is a query the user resolves without clicking any result — the answer is delivered on the results page itself via a featured snippet, knowledge panel, or AI Overview.
More about Zero-click searchSearch & SEO
Classic organic search: rankings, SERP features, local pack, and the data behind them.
SERP features
SERP features are the non-standard elements on a search results page beyond the plain blue links — featured snippets, People Also Ask, image and video packs, the local pack, knowledge panels, and AI Overviews.
More about SERP featuresLocal pack (map pack)
The local pack — or map pack — is the block of three local business listings with a map that Google shows for location-based queries like 'dentist near me,' drawn from Google Business Profiles.
More about Local pack (map pack)How marketing agents work
The mechanism: how a marketer runs research agents inside the assistant they already use.
MCP (for marketers)
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an AI assistant like Claude or ChatGPT securely connect to outside tools and live data. For a marketer, it is simply the one-time setup that gives your assistant real marketing data to work with.
More about MCP (for marketers)AI marketing agent
An AI marketing agent is a prebuilt persona — for SEO, AI visibility, influencer research, social listening, and more — that you run inside an AI assistant to do a specific marketing job, end to end, from live data rather than generic guesses.
More about AI marketing agentGive your assistant live public data
Add one MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, or Codex and run ready-made marketing agents — $0.001 per record, no separate LLM key.
Using ChatGPT, Claude Code or another client? See the setup steps
Prefer direct HTTP? Create an API key.
Social & influencer
Listening to public conversation and pricing the creators who drive it.
Social listening
Social listening is monitoring public conversation across social platforms and communities — X, Reddit, TikTok, news — to track mentions of your brand, competitors, or category and surface what people actually say.
More about Social listeningKOL / influencer pricing
KOL (key opinion leader) or influencer pricing is the process of estimating what a creator's sponsored post is worth, based on public signals like follower size, engagement quality, audience fit, and posting cadence.
More about KOL / influencer pricing