Mention, Citation, Recommendation: Three Different Things AI Does With Your Brand
A mention names you. A citation sources you. A recommendation chooses you. Three outcomes, three mechanisms, and the cheapest one has measurable commercial effect.
Category AEO Fundamentals
Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of making your brand visible and citable inside AI generated answers, not just search engine results pages.
This is where we break down the core concepts: what counts as a citation versus a mention, what an entity is in AI search, how AEO differs from traditional SEO, and the foundational tactics every B2B SaaS company should understand before investing further.
Start here if you are new to AI visibility and want a clear, practical grounding in the terms and mechanics before moving into research, tactics, or agency selection.
AEO vs SEO: What Actually Changed and What Didn’t
AEO and SEO share most of their foundation and differ in two ways: the unit that competes and the outcome you are paid in. What changed, what did not, and how to split a budget.
The AEO Glossary: Every Term You Actually Need to Know
A reference for the vocabulary of answer engine optimization, with every term labelled by where it came from: standard, research, vendor or coined.
What Is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)? The Complete Guide
Answer engine optimization is the practice of making a company retrievable and quotable by AI systems that answer questions directly instead of returning links.