# Glossary of terms

> Plain-language definitions of the terms you will see across SuperSchema and this knowledge base, from schema markup and JSON-LD to the SuperSchema Score, Citation Score, baselines, drift, and AI-readable alt files.

*Category: Reference · Last updated: 2026-07-07*

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This is a quick reference for the words you will run into across SuperSchema and this knowledge base. Where a term has its own article, the definition links to it so you can go deeper.

## Core concepts

**Schema markup:** Structured data that describes a page to machines, so search engines and AI answer engines can understand what the page is about instead of guessing from the words. See [[what-is-schema-markup]].

**JSON-LD:** The format SuperSchema writes your schema in: a single self-contained block that goes in your page head. It is the format Google and AI engines read most reliably.

**AEO:** Answer Engine Optimization: getting your business understood and cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI overviews. See [[what-is-aeo]].

**GEO:** Generative Engine Optimization: being chosen as a source by generative AI engines when they compose an answer. Closely related to AEO. See [[what-is-geo-and-ai-search]].

## Scans and scores

**Site Scan:** A free scan that reads a sample of your public pages and measures how ready your site is for AI and search. No account is needed to run one, and it never changes your live site. See [[running-a-free-scan]].

**SuperSchema Score:** Your site-wide AI-visibility grade from 0 to 100, a weighted blend of five categories: Access, Content, Structure, Schema, and Alternate. It is what the Site Scan hands you. See [[your-superschema-score]].

**Schema quality score:** A score for a single schema (not the whole site) that rates how complete and correct that one piece of JSON-LD is. A page can have several schemas, each with its own quality score.

**Citation Score:** The share of AI answers that actually cite your business when people ask questions in your space. Where the SuperSchema Score measures readiness, the Citation Score measures real-world results. See [[citation-tracking]].

> **Note:** Three different scores, three different jobs: the schema quality score grades one schema, the SuperSchema Score grades your whole site for AI readiness, and the Citation Score measures whether AI engines are actually citing you.

## Monitoring terms

**Baseline:** A saved snapshot of a verified page. Monitoring compares the live page against this baseline to notice when something changes.

**Drift:** A change on a monitored page compared to its baseline, for example your schema being edited, removed, or broken. Drift is what monitoring watches for so you can fix it before it costs you visibility. See [[understanding-drift-events]].

**Monitoring:** The ongoing service that keeps checking your verified pages, records baselines, and alerts you to drift so your AI-readable layer stays current. See [[what-monitoring-does]].

**Verification:** The check that confirms your schema is actually live on a page before monitoring starts tracking it.

## AI-readable layer

**AI-readable alt files:** Clean Markdown and plain-text versions of your pages that AI engines can read without wrestling with your site layout, scripts, or styling. They give AI a tidy copy of your content to learn from. See [[ai-readable-alt-files]].

**llms.txt:** A single domain-level overview file that helps AI engines understand your whole site at a glance, listing your key pages and what they are about. See [[domain-llms-txt]].

**Bot tracking:** A view of which AI crawlers are visiting your site, how often, and which pages they read, so you can see whether AI engines are actually reaching your content. See [[bot-tracking]].

## Products and surfaces

**Audit:** A one-time, expert-delivered SuperSchema Audit: a deep diagnostic of what AI understands about your business and what to fix, separate from the self-serve scan and monitoring. See [[superschema-audit]].

**Page Setup:** The starting configuration for a page after you claim a scan: the detected business context and the prioritized fixes SuperSchema prepares so you are not starting from a blank slate.

## Questions this answers

- What does this SuperSchema term mean?
- What is schema markup?
- What is JSON-LD?
- What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
- What is the difference between the SuperSchema Score and the Citation Score?
- What is a schema quality score?
- What is a baseline and what is drift?
- What are AI-readable alt files?
- What is llms.txt?
- What is bot tracking?
- What is a SuperSchema Audit versus a Site Scan?

## Related

- https://superschema.ai/docs/understanding-your-scores
- https://superschema.ai/docs/what-is-schema-markup
- https://superschema.ai/docs/what-monitoring-does
- https://superschema.ai/docs/running-a-free-scan