If you’ve used AI search, you know how effortless it feels. You type a question and get back a neat answer. But if you look closely, those answers follow a consistent structure.
Understanding those parts makes AI search less of a mystery. It also shows why one brand appears and another doesn’t. This is the starting point for newer disciplines like Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) (also called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)), which focus on how brands surface in AI-generated answers.
Here’s a way to break down any AI search response.
1. The Prompt
Everything starts with the question a user types. The wording of the prompt sets the boundaries.
Ask for “best project management tools” and the AI casts a wide net. Ask “Asana vs Trello” and it narrows to a head-to-head. Even a small adjective—“affordable,” “enterprise,” “AI-powered”—can shift which brands show up.
2. The Response
What comes back is not a list of links like search engines used to give. It’s a narrative, written as if the AI is explaining something to you.
The structure matters. Sometimes the AI lists options evenly. Other times it emphasizes one over the others. The tone matters too. An answer can sound neutral, enthusiastic, or critical without saying so outright.
For AI search optimization, the response is the field of play. It shows not just whether you’re included, but also how you’re framed.
3. Brand Mentions
Mentions are simple on the surface: your brand’s name appears in the text. But they are the foundation of how we measure performance in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Every mention can be broken down into four dimensions:
Presence — Did your brand appear at all in the response?
Position — When listed alongside others, where does your brand appear in the sequence?
Placement — Are you central to the narrative or tucked away in a secondary sentence?
Perception — What attributes, adjectives, or context are attached to your brand?
For example, if the AI says “HubSpot is widely used by startups,” that’s presence. If it lists HubSpot first before Salesforce or Zoho, that’s position. If the sentence introduces HubSpot as the main example rather than as an afterthought, that’s placement. And the phrase “widely used by startups” contributes to perception.
Mentions are not just a box to check. They are the raw material of both Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AEO. They show how the AI is mapping attributes to your brand and how that brand is being framed in comparison to others.
4. Competitor Mentions
Almost no brand appears alone. If your name shows up, competitors usually do too.
The important part is how they’re described. If the AI praises one brand’s affordability and another’s enterprise features, it sets up a comparison. You don’t have to be mentioned directly to be affected.
Competitor mentions shape the positioning that AEO strategies try to influence.
5. Inline Sources
Inline sources are links woven into the AI’s text, often on a phrase or brand name. They’re easy to miss, but they’re there for a reason: to encourage the user to click. Unlike citations, which sit at the bottom, inline links are placed in the middle of the answer to guide attention in real time.
For AEO and GEO, inline sources matter because they:
Show which sites the AI is actively pushing users toward.
Shape perception through the choice of anchor text (“trusted CRM” vs. “pricing page”).
Influence behavior by placing links exactly where trust is needed.
Think of inline sources as the AI’s way of directing the flow of clicks, not explaining what it used to come up with the answer.
6. Cited Sources
Cited sources appear at the bottom of AI search responses as footnotes or reference lists. They look more formal than inline links and serve a different purpose: attribution. They show where the AI claims it built its answer.
For AEO and GEO, citations matter because they:
Reveal which domains the AI considers authoritative.
Signal credibility to users scanning for “proof.”
Provide a direct path for clicks, often to publishers or brand sites.
Putting It Together
If you read an AI response this way, you stop seeing it as a block of text and start seeing it as a system.
The Prompt sets the scope.
The Response shapes the narrative.
Mentions tell you who’s in the story.
Sources reveal where trust comes from.
That’s the anatomy of an AI response. Once you understand it, you can start thinking in terms of GEO and AEO not just whether you show up in AI search, but how you’re framed inside the answer itself.