Guide

The 12 pillars

Twelve distinct moments where an AI decides whether to mention you, recommend you, or trust you. The pillars are the same across every surface — but what you actually change is different depending on whether you're a website, a mobile app, or an MCP tool. Pick your surface.

Pick the surface you want to optimize

For a website

How the 12 pillars apply to a marketing site, ecommerce site, docs site, or any regular web presence.

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For a mobile app

How the 12 pillars apply to an iOS (Apple App Store) or Android (Google Play) app listing.

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For an MCP tool

How the 12 pillars apply to an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server — a service AI assistants can call directly to run actions.

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The 12 pillars, one line each

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) — get quoted directly in AI answers.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — stay accurate when AI summarizes your content.
AAIO (Agentic Artificial Intelligence Optimization) — get NAMED and CHOSEN when an AI recommends something.
AXO (Agent Experience Optimization) — smooth technical handoff from the AI to you.
DAO (Dynamic Agent Optimization) — serve each AI its preferred version of your content.
PULSE (a pillar name, not an acronym) — track your AI visibility every day.
RIVAL (a pillar name, not an acronym) — see which competitors AIs recommend instead of you.
PROTO (short for "Protocol") — track updates to the invisible standards AIs read.
BUG (Bug Hunter, a pillar name, not an acronym) — catch AI hallucinations about your brand.
SIGNAL (a pillar name, not an acronym) — freshness & trust notifications to search engines and AI crawlers.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) — let AIs actually DO things in your product.
SOCIAL (a pillar name, not an acronym) — consistent handles and bios across every social platform.

The two jobs, in plain English

Every pillar sits on one of two jobs:

Get recommended — the AI is talking to a human and needs to name a brand. Covered by: AAIO, AEO, GEO, PULSE, RIVAL, SIGNAL, SOCIAL, and the trust side of BUG.
Get invoked — the AI needs to actually DO the thing (open your app, run a search, book a slot). Covered by: MCP, PROTO, AXO.
DAO covers both.

What order to read a report in

Whichever surface you pick, read the pillars in this order: AEO → GEO → SIGNAL (does the AI know you and is your content fresh?) → PULSE → RIVAL (where do you stand vs. alternatives?) → AAIO → AXO → PROTO (can the AI actually use you?) → DAO → BUG (is anything drifting?). Store-driven apps (games, subscription apps) usually move PULSE and RIVAL earlier.