Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
The technique LLMs use to fetch external content and cite it in answers.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is the technical pattern powering cited AI answers. When a user asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini a question, the system retrieves relevant documents from an index and uses them as context for the LLM's response.
AEO is essentially the practice of making your content more retrievable and more extractable in RAG pipelines. Every AEO tactic ultimately influences either retrieval (ranking, crawlability, freshness) or extraction (structure, schema, answer capsules).