Glossary
The words we use, defined
Plain definitions of the terms behind building, shipping and getting found with AI.
Answer engine optimisation (AEO)
Making your pages easy for AI assistants and AI search features to read, trust and cite when they answer a question.
Capacity gate
A paywall placed on how much someone can use a product, such as items stored or scans per month, rather than on which features they can see.
Function map
A table that splits each function of a business into what a person decides, what AI drafts or builds, and what runs automatically.
Invariants file
A short, living list of rules that must always hold in a project, written down the day each one is learned, and read by people and AI before any work starts.
llms.txt
A plain-text markdown file at the root of a website that gives AI models a short, accurate summary of the site and links to its most useful pages.
Product loop
A growth mechanism built into the product itself, where normal use by one person brings in the next, without paid marketing.
Recon prompt
A prompt that asks an AI model to inspect and report on the current state of a project before it changes anything, so a person can confirm the plan first.
Ship log
A short, public weekly post saying what you shipped, what you learned and what's next. In our cohorts, missing two in a row ends your place.
Three-layer content model
A content plan with three jobs: informational pages that earn trust, honest buyer's guides that catch shoppers, and comparison pages for the moment of decision.
Validation gate
A threshold, written down in advance, that must be met before you spend time or money on the next, more expensive step.