AI search terms, explained
What the new words mean, in one line each.
Facts checked 3 Oct 2026 · by the AdSworn team
AI Overviews are Google's AI-written summaries at the top of some results; AI Mode is Google's conversational search. An LLM is the kind of model behind AI assistants. Crawlers come in two kinds: training crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended) and search crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot). Each definition below stands on its own.
AI search
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AI Overviews | Google's AI-generated summaries shown on some search results, with links to supporting websites. |
| AI Mode | Google's AI search for longer, follow-up questions, with links to supporting websites. |
| AI assistant | A chat product that answers questions and can search the web, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. |
| Large language model (LLM) | The kind of AI model behind most assistants, trained on large amounts of text. |
| Citation (in AI answers) | A link an AI answer gives to the page it drew on. |
| Zero-click search | A search answered on the results page, with no click to a website. |
| Supporting link | Google's term for a page linked from an AI Overview or AI Mode answer. |
Crawlers
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Crawler (bot) | Software that visits web pages automatically, for search indexes or AI. |
| Googlebot | Google's search crawler; it also feeds AI Overviews and AI Mode. |
| Google-Extended | A robots.txt token controlling whether Google may use content to train Gemini; doesn't affect Search. |
| GPTBot | OpenAI's crawler for training models. |
| OAI-SearchBot | OpenAI's crawler for surfacing sites in ChatGPT search. |
| ChatGPT-User | OpenAI's agent for pages a person asks ChatGPT to visit. |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic's crawler for collecting training data. |
| Claude-SearchBot | Anthropic's crawler for improving Claude's search results. |
| Claude-User | Anthropic's agent for pages a person asks Claude to fetch. |
| robots.txt | A file at a site's root telling crawlers what they may visit. |
| llms.txt | A proposed plain-text map at /llms.txt to help AI agents use a site; not an official standard. |
Measurement
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AI Assistant channel | A Google Analytics channel for visits from assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini; excludes AI Overviews and AI Mode. |
| utm_source=chatgpt.com | The tag ChatGPT adds to links it sends, so the visits show by source. |
| Generative AI performance reports | Search Console reports of impressions in Google's AI features. |
| E-E-A-T | Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness: qualities Google says its systems look for. |
| Scaled content abuse | Mass-produced pages made mainly to manipulate rankings; against Google's spam policies. |
For ad terms like CPM, CPC and viewability, see advertising terms, explained.
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Straight answers
What is the difference between AI Overviews and AI Mode?
AI Overviews are summaries that appear on some normal Google results. AI Mode is a separate AI search experience for longer, follow-up questions. Both link to supporting websites.
What is GPTBot?
OpenAI's crawler for collecting content to train its models. It's separate from OAI-SearchBot, which surfaces sites in ChatGPT search.
What is llms.txt?
A proposed file at /llms.txt giving AI agents a plain-text map of a site. It's a convention, not an official standard used by the major assistants for ranking.