Glossary

AEO & GEO glossary

Plain definitions of the terms behind getting found and recommended by AI assistants.

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring your content and product data so AI assistants can read it, trust it, and quote it in their answers. For a store it means clean structured data, real identifiers and a clear offer, so an assistant can recommend your product with confidence.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)Generative Engine Optimization is being present, cited and recommended inside the answer a generative AI produces, rather than on a page of links. It is the meaning layer that sits on top of AEO's data layer: AEO makes your facts machine-readable, GEO gets you into the generated answer.
• Structured dataStructured data is machine-readable information about a page, added in a standard format so search engines and AI assistants can understand it without guessing. For products it usually means a schema.org Product block describing name, price, brand, availability and identifiers.
• JSON-LDJSON-LD (JSON for Linking Data) is the recommended format for adding structured data to a web page. It is a small block of JSON, usually in a script tag, that describes the page's content, such as a Product with its price, brand and availability, in a way machines read reliably.
• GTINGTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the standard product identifier managed by GS1, the number under a product's barcode. UPC is a 12-digit GTIN and EAN is a 13-digit GTIN. Assistants use it to match your product to the exact item a shopper asked for.
• Product feedA product feed is a single structured file of your whole catalog that platforms pull on a schedule, so an agent knows your current price and stock without crawling every page. Channels like Google Merchant, and the agent-readable feeds AI shopping assistants consume, read this to index and compare products.