REFERENCE

AEO glossary

Plain definitions for the terms Sunnyvale AEO uses when measuring a medspa’s visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. Each definition links back to the page it came from, where the full context lives.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the discipline of making a business appear in the answers AI assistants give, not just in a list of search results. SEO targets Google’s blue-link results; AEO targets the AI answer itself, the paragraph a patient reads on ChatGPT or the AI Overview block at the top of a Google search. For a local medspa, the practical effect is that only three to five clinics get named per query, so a business is in the answer or it is not. Answer Engine Optimization in Sunnyvale →
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the same discipline as AEO under a different name. There is no structural difference between them: both mean optimizing so AI assistants and generative search surfaces recommend a business. Sunnyvale AEO uses the term AEO, but the identical work is sometimes called GEO elsewhere. Frequently asked →
AI visibility: AI visibility is the share of patient-intent queries where an AI surface names a medspa in its answer. It is measured per surface, across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, and rolled up into a single combined index. A medspa can rank well on Google and still have low AI visibility, since the two are scored independently. Methodology: what we measure →
AI visibility audit: An AI visibility audit is a personalized PDF report scoring a medspa’s visibility across 36 patient query types and all five AI surfaces, alongside side-by-side competitor gaps and ranked fixes ordered by impact. It is walked to the medspa’s front desk within 24 hours of intake. The audit itself is free and carries no obligation to purchase anything further. Frequently asked →
Coverage (the guarantee metric): Coverage is the count of unique patient questions where at least one of the five AI surfaces names a medspa, and it is the metric behind Sunnyvale AEO’s performance commitment. The commitment is a 30% increase in that count within 90 days, measured against the client’s baseline audit on the same query basket, counting unique questions rather than question-and-surface combinations so no single question is double-counted. Where a baseline names the medspa in fewer than 5 unique questions, the commitment instead becomes an absolute increase of at least 3 additional questions. Terms: our performance commitment →
Query basket: The query basket is the fixed set of 36 patient query types run against every medspa audited, expanded into 162 query-runner combinations to capture variance in how AI surfaces respond to phrasing. The 36 types cluster into seven intents: treatment-led, location-led, comparative, trust-led, cost-led, research-led, and fit-led. Every audit runs the identical basket so results are comparable across clients and over time. Methodology: the query basket →
Query-runner combination: A query-runner combination is one query type run through one specific phrasing (a “runner”) against one AI surface. Sunnyvale AEO expands 36 patient query types into 162 such combinations because the same intent phrased three different ways often returns three different sets of named clinics from an AI surface. Each combination is scored independently for mention, citation, and rank position before results are aggregated. Methodology: the query basket →
Surface: A surface, in Sunnyvale AEO’s usage, is one of the five AI products measured for medspa visibility: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. Each surface has its own ranking behavior and citation pipeline, so a medspa can be strongly visible on one surface and invisible on another. Every audit measures all five surfaces, never a subset. Methodology: what we measure →
Citation vs. mention: A mention is whether an AI surface names a medspa in its answer; a citation is the stricter case where the surface also links the medspa’s own URL or property as a source. Sunnyvale AEO tracks both separately for every query-surface combination, along with rank position among named competitors. Citation rate compounds over time, since AI surfaces tend to treat prior citations as a signal for future answers. Methodology: scoring & dedup →
Google AI Overviews vs. Gemini: Google AI Overviews and Gemini are measured separately, on purpose. Google AI Overviews is the AI-generated summary block at the top of Google search results, while Gemini is Google’s standalone AI assistant; the surfaces, ranking factors, and citation behavior differ enough that folding them together would hide real visibility gaps. Both are audited as two of the five surfaces, never merged into one score. Frequently asked →
Perplexity (Sonar): Perplexity is a web-search answer engine built on Perplexity AI’s Sonar model, one of the five surfaces Sunnyvale AEO audits. Unlike the other four surfaces, Perplexity leans heavily on Reddit and other user-generated content for local queries, a different citation profile Sunnyvale AEO accounts for in scoring. Perplexity was added as the fifth audited surface in June 2026, once it became a primary answer engine for local discovery. Answer Engine Optimization in Sunnyvale →
One client per zip: One client per zip means Sunnyvale AEO locks a medspa’s zip code exclusively to that client at signing, for the duration of the engagement, and will not take on another medspa in the same zip while that engagement is active. It is a geographic exclusivity guarantee: a competitor on the next block cannot buy the same coverage after a medspa signs. Zip availability is confirmed on the first call, before any work begins. Terms: zip-code exclusivity →
Founding rate: The founding rate is Sunnyvale AEO’s discounted pricing tier, available to the first 5 South Bay medspas, locked for the life of the engagement even after all founding seats are claimed. After the founding seats are gone, new clients sign at the standard rate instead. Both rates and what each includes are on the pricing page. Pricing →
Fix queue / fix pack: The fix queue is the ranked list of recommended changes in a medspa’s audit report, ordered by projected lift rather than by activity volume. Sunnyvale AEO deliberately hands clients five ranked fixes instead of a 40-item checklist, so the work that actually moves the visibility score is unambiguous. The delivered PDF that carries this queue, alongside the visibility scores and competitor table, is the audit report itself. Methodology: what you receive →
Medical schema (structured data): Medical schema is structured, machine-readable markup that states a medspa’s practice type, services, and patient-facing answers in a form AI surfaces and search engines can parse directly, rather than inferring it from prose. Sunnyvale AEO deploys this schema, along with treatment-page content, as part of every engagement rather than leaving it as a to-do list for the client. It is one of the concrete deliverables underlying the visibility gains the audit measures. AEO for medspas →
NAP: NAP stands for a business’s name, address, and phone number, the fields that need to agree exactly across a medspa’s website, Google Business Profile, and any directory it appears in. Sunnyvale AEO’s terms ask clients to avoid conflicting changes, such as altering the business name, address, or phone number, once structured data and profile changes are deployed. Inconsistent NAP data undermines the same signals AI surfaces and search engines use to confirm a business’s identity. Terms: your responsibilities →
Google Business Profile: Google Business Profile (GBP) is the free Google listing that shows a medspa’s hours, location, reviews, and services, and it is a signal AI surfaces and Google itself draw on to confirm and describe a business. Sunnyvale AEO manages and optimizes a client’s Google Business Profile as part of the engagement, including generating reviews, since reviews are what a patient checks after an AI surface names a clinic. Manager access to the profile is one of the things clients grant within 5 business days of signing. AEO for medspas →

See where you stand

The clearest way to understand any of these terms is to see them applied to your own medspa. Email Jonah@sunnyvaleaeo.com or request your audit at the intake form.

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