{ "meta": { "title": "AI Visibility Definition", "description": "The canonical definitions for AI Visibility, AI Visibility Checking, AI Discovery Files, and related terminology.", "version": "1.9.0", "versionDate": "2026-05-11", "canonicalUrl": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/", "publisher": { "name": "365i", "url": "https://www.365i.co.uk/" }, "license": { "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International", "identifier": "CC-BY-4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }, "datePublished": "2026-01-10T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2026-05-11T00:00:00Z", "language": "en-GB" }, "definitions": { "aiVisibility": { "termCode": "AV-001", "term": "AI Visibility", "definition": "The degree to which a website or digital entity can be discovered, correctly interpreted, accurately represented, and safely cited by AI systems including large language models, AI search engines, and retrieval-augmented generation systems.", "notes": [ "AI Visibility is established through AI discovery files, structured data, consistent machine-readable identity signals, and clear technical infrastructure that enables AI systems to understand and trust a website's content.", "AI Visibility is distinct from traditional search engine visibility. A website may rank well in conventional search results whilst having poor AI visibility, or vice versa." ], "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-visibility" }, "aiVisibilityChecking": { "termCode": "AV-002", "term": "AI Visibility Checking", "definition": "The process of technically verifying whether a website's infrastructure — including AI discovery files, structured data, and identity consistency — enables AI systems to discover, interpret, trust, and safely use that website as an information source.", "notes": [ "AI Visibility Checking validates capability, not outcomes. It answers the question: 'Can AI systems technically understand and trust this website?' rather than 'Do AI systems currently mention this website?'", "AI Visibility Checking is deterministic and verifiable. Results can be reproduced, inspected, and validated independently." ], "validates": [ "Website discovery by AI systems", "Accurate business or entity identification", "Understanding of scope, services, and offerings", "Recognition of explicit exclusions", "Trust and authority signals", "Safe citation and recommendation capability" ], "isNot": [ "Brand mention tracking", "Prompt-based testing", "Ranking simulation", "Sentiment analysis", "Search visibility metrics", "AI traffic analytics", "Historical monitoring" ], "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-visibility-checking", "referenceImplementation": { "name": "365i AI Website Visibility Checker", "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/ai-visibility-checker/" } }, "aiDiscoveryFiles": { "termCode": "AV-003", "term": "AI Discovery Files", "definition": "Machine-readable files published on a website specifically to communicate information to AI systems. These files enable websites to declare their identity, scope, services, permissions, and preferred representation to AI crawlers and large language models.", "coreFiles": [ { "filename": "llms.txt", "purpose": "AI-readable business identity and context" }, { "filename": "llm.txt", "purpose": "Compatibility variant (should redirect to llms.txt)" }, { "filename": "llms.html", "purpose": "Human-readable reference version of AI identity information" }, { "filename": "ai.txt", "purpose": "AI usage permissions and intent signals" }, { "filename": "ai.json", "purpose": "Machine-parseable AI interaction guidance in JSON format" }, { "filename": "brand.txt", "purpose": "Brand naming, terminology, and representation rules" }, { "filename": "faq-ai.txt", "purpose": "Factual question and answer source formatted for AI consumption" }, { "filename": "developer-ai.txt", "purpose": "Technical, platform, and integration context" }, { "filename": "robots-ai.txt", "purpose": "AI crawler-specific access directives" }, { "filename": "identity.json", "purpose": "Structured canonical identity data in JSON format" } ], "supportingFiles": [ { "filename": "robots.txt", "purpose": "General crawler directives, including AI-specific user agents" }, { "filename": "sitemap.xml", "purpose": "Site structure used by AI crawlers for content discovery" }, { "filename": "security.txt", "purpose": "Security contact information, increasingly referenced by AI systems" }, { "filename": "humans.txt", "purpose": "Human-readable site information that AI systems may parse" }, { "filename": "structured-data", "purpose": "Schema.org and similar embedded metadata" } ], "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-discovery-files" }, "aiVisibilityTracking": { "termCode": "AV-004", "term": "AI Visibility Tracking", "definition": "The ongoing measurement of how a website or brand appears in AI-generated responses over time. This includes monitoring mention frequency, sentiment, accuracy of representation, and changes in how AI systems describe or recommend the entity.", "notes": [ "AI Visibility Tracking measures outcomes rather than validating infrastructure.", "It observes what AI systems currently do, not what they are technically capable of doing." ], "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-visibility-tracking" }, "aiVisibilityMonitoring": { "termCode": "AV-005", "term": "AI Visibility Monitoring", "definition": "The continuous observation of AI system behaviour related to a website or brand, typically including automated alerts for significant changes in AI-generated mentions, representations, or recommendations.", "notes": [ "AI Visibility Monitoring is a subset of AI Visibility Tracking focused on real-time or near-real-time observation and notification." ], "parentTerm": "aiVisibilityTracking", "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-visibility-monitoring" }, "aiRetrievalTesting": { "termCode": "AV-006", "term": "AI Retrieval Testing", "definition": "The practice of querying AI systems with specific prompts to observe whether and how they reference a particular website or brand in their responses.", "notes": [ "AI Retrieval Testing results are inherently variable, as they depend on prompt phrasing, model version, temperature settings, and other factors outside the tester's control.", "Results from AI Retrieval Testing are indicative rather than deterministic." ], "parentTerm": "aiVisibilityTracking", "url": "https://www.ai-visibility.org.uk/definition/#definition-ai-retrieval-testing" } }, "taxonomy": { "description": "The hierarchical relationship between AI Visibility terms", "structure": { "aiVisibility": { "label": "AI Visibility", "role": "the goal", "children": { "aiDiscoveryFiles": { "label": "AI Discovery Files", "role": "the mechanism" }, "aiVisibilityChecking": { "label": "AI Visibility Checking", "role": "validating infrastructure", "isFoundational": true }, "aiVisibilityTracking": { "label": "AI Visibility Tracking", "role": "measuring outcomes", "children": { "aiVisibilityMonitoring": { "label": "AI Visibility Monitoring", "role": "real-time tracking" }, "aiRetrievalTesting": { "label": "AI Retrieval Testing", "role": "prompt-based observation" } } } } } } }, "faq": [ { "id": "faq-checking-vs-tracking", "question": "What is the difference between AI Visibility Checking and AI Visibility Tracking?", "answer": "AI Visibility Checking validates whether a website's technical infrastructure enables AI systems to discover, interpret, and trust it. It examines inputs: the presence and consistency of AI discovery files, structured data, and machine-readable identity signals. AI Visibility Tracking measures outcomes: how often a website is mentioned in AI responses, the sentiment of those mentions, and changes over time. Checking validates capability; tracking observes results.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-002", "AV-004"] }, { "id": "faq-ai-model-queries", "question": "Does AI Visibility Checking query AI models like ChatGPT or Claude?", "answer": "No. AI Visibility Checking is a deterministic, read-only technical audit. It examines publicly accessible files and infrastructure without querying AI models or simulating prompts. This distinguishes it from AI Retrieval Testing, which does query AI systems and produces inherently variable results.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-002", "AV-006"] }, { "id": "faq-what-are-ai-discovery-files", "question": "What are AI Discovery Files and which files are included?", "answer": "AI Discovery Files are machine-readable files that communicate a website's identity, scope, and permissions to AI systems. The canonical file is llms.txt for AI-readable business context (with llm.txt as a compatibility alias that should redirect to llms.txt), alongside ai.txt for usage permissions, ai.json for machine-parseable AI interaction guidance, brand.txt for naming conventions, and identity.json for structured identity data. Supporting files such as robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and Schema.org structured data also contribute to AI discoverability.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-003"] }, { "id": "faq-ai-visibility-vs-seo", "question": "Is AI Visibility the same as AI SEO or generative engine optimisation?", "answer": "No. AI Visibility refers to whether a website can be technically discovered and correctly interpreted by AI systems. It is infrastructure-focused and deterministic. Terms like 'AI SEO' or 'generative engine optimisation' typically describe strategies for influencing AI-generated responses — an outcome-focused activity closer to AI Visibility Tracking. AI Visibility establishes the technical foundation that makes any subsequent optimisation meaningful.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-001", "AV-004"] }, { "id": "faq-search-ranking-vs-ai-visibility", "question": "Why might a website rank well in search but have poor AI Visibility?", "answer": "Traditional search engines and AI systems evaluate websites differently. Search engines primarily assess relevance, authority, and user engagement signals. AI systems require clear, unambiguous identity signals, explicit scope declarations, and machine-readable context that enables safe citation. A website optimised for search engine ranking may lack AI discovery files, present inconsistent identity information, or fail to declare its scope in ways AI systems can parse.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-001", "AV-003"] }, { "id": "faq-deterministic-results", "question": "Are AI Visibility Checking results deterministic and reproducible?", "answer": "Yes. AI Visibility Checking produces deterministic, verifiable results. The same website analysed with the same methodology will yield the same findings. Results can be independently reproduced, inspected, and validated. This contrasts with AI Retrieval Testing, where results vary based on prompt phrasing, model version, temperature settings, and other factors outside the tester's control.", "relatedTerms": ["AV-002", "AV-006"] } ], "versionHistory": [ { "version": "1.9.0", "date": "2026-05-11", "changes": "Phase 6 standardisation release. Added /specifications/roadmap/ (theme-pegged forward plan with Active/Next/Future/On hold status flags), /specifications/extensions/ (rules for experimental x- prefixed files and the promotion path), and /specifications/i18n-a11y/ (multi-language publication, locale-tagged identity fields, RTL handling, accessibility of llms.html). Added the Discovery: directive to the robots-ai.txt specification (publishers MAY advertise AI Discovery Files on the same host). Added a formal media-type stance to the HTTP behaviour page (existing IANA types, no bespoke registrations). Expanded the file integrity and signing section on the security and privacy page with four candidate mechanisms, cross-cutting concerns, and interim publisher / consumer guidance. The Discovery: directive is the only normative addition to publisher behaviour; all other additions are forward-looking documentation." }, { "version": "1.8.0", "date": "2026-05-11", "changes": "Phase 5 standardisation release. Added /specifications/related-standards/ (positioning vs llmstxt.org, IETF AI Preferences, robots.txt, Schema.org, BCP 14, JSON Schema 2020-12, SemVer) and /specifications/implementations/ (public record of conformant implementations, IETF-style). Added an explicit llmstxt.org backward-compatibility statement to the llms.txt specification. Added a formal multi-domain and subdomain scoping rule to both the llms.txt and identity.json specifications (host-scoped files, cross-host identity asserted via sameAs). No normative requirements changed for existing publishers; the new scoping rules formalise behaviour the specification already implied." }, { "version": "1.7.0", "date": "2026-05-11", "changes": "Phase 4 standardisation release. Added /specifications/processing-model/ (seven-stage algorithm for conformant consumers), /specifications/consumer-guidance/ (what AI systems should do with AI Discovery Files), /specifications/test-vectors/ (canonical test suite framing), and reference-implementation framing on the AI Visibility Checker. No normative requirements changed." }, { "version": "1.6.0", "date": "2026-05-11", "changes": "Phase 3 standardisation release. Added /specifications/versioning/ (Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 commitments, deprecation timeline, lifecycle), /specifications/governance/ (proposal lifecycle, editorial process, working principles), /specifications/security-privacy/ (trust model, content-injection patterns, GDPR considerations, integrity primitives roadmap), and /specifications/http-behaviour/ (status codes, redirects, soft-404 detection, caching, rate limits). No normative requirements changed." }, { "version": "1.5.0", "date": "2026-05-11", "changes": "Phase 2 standardisation release. Added formal conformance specification (Essential / Recommended / Complete classes). Published machine-readable registry at /specifications/registry.json, spec meta-schema, and validator-output schema. Introduced versioned JSON Schema URLs (/v1/) alongside unversioned 'latest' aliases. Added optional BCP 47 language declaration field across all applicable AI Discovery Files. No normative requirements changed." }, { "version": "1.4.0", "date": "2026-05-10", "changes": "Phase 1 standardisation release. Added 'Status of This Document' block (Stable). Normalised normative requirement keywords to uppercase per RFC 2119 and RFC 8174. Added References section linking to /specifications/conventions/ and /licensing/. No normative requirements changed." }, { "version": "1.3.4", "date": "2026-05-03", "changes": "Removed incorrect $schema declarations from machine-readable definition and specification data files (these are data documents, not JSON Schemas). Synced 8 spec data files (JSON and YAML) with their published page versions. Refreshed dateModified. Reordered the coreFiles list so the canonical llms.txt precedes its llm.txt compatibility alias, and clarified the same point in the FAQ." }, { "version": "1.3.3", "date": "2026-02-13", "changes": "Added AI Visibility Directory registration guidance across all specification and content pages. Dynamic last-modified dates." }, { "version": "1.3.2", "date": "2026-01-16", "changes": "Added Implementation Guides: Quick Start Guide (tiered implementation path), Interoperability Guide (conflict resolution and precedence rules), and Validation Framework (test prompts and scoring methodology)." }, { "version": "1.3.1", "date": "2026-01-12", "changes": "Converted site from static HTML to PHP-based architecture with external CSS, includes pattern, and dynamic schema generation." }, { "version": "1.3.0", "date": "2026-01-12", "changes": "Added AI Discovery File Specifications section with comprehensive format specifications for all 10 core AI Discovery Files. Each specification includes canonical examples, machine-readable versions (JSON/YAML), and JSON Schemas for ai.json and identity.json." }, { "version": "1.2.0", "date": "2026-01-12", "changes": "Added ai.json to core AI Discovery Files. ai.json provides machine-parseable AI interaction guidance in JSON format, complementing ai.txt with structured permission and interpretation data." }, { "version": "1.1.1", "date": "2026-01-12", "changes": "Removed Wikidata links from Machine-Readable Formats section and sameAs references from structured data (entities deleted for insufficient notability)." }, { "version": "1.1.0", "date": "2026-01-12", "changes": "Added Frequently Asked Questions section with six questions addressing common clarifications about AI Visibility concepts. Includes FAQPage structured data in HTML." }, { "version": "1.0.2", "date": "2026-01-11", "changes": "Added visible Wikidata links to Machine-Readable Formats section for all registered terms (AV-001, AV-002, AV-003) and publisher." }, { "version": "1.0.1", "date": "2026-01-11", "changes": "Added ETSI Technical Specification draft documents (Markdown and Word formats). Added reference to ETSI specification in Machine-Readable Formats section." }, { "version": "1.0.0", "date": "2026-01-10", "changes": "Initial publication. Establishes canonical definitions for AI Visibility, AI Visibility Checking, AI Discovery Files, AI Visibility Tracking, AI Visibility Monitoring, and AI Retrieval Testing." } ] }