Digital intelligence glossary

Answer Engine Optimisation

Structure answers so answer engines can understand and reuse them directly.

AI agent

A system pursuing a bounded mission, using tools and following an action policy.

Authority

Trust granted to a source based on evidence, consistency and citation.

Digital due diligence

Structured verification of visible footprint, assets, relationships and risks.

Entity

A person, organisation, place, product or concept identified through attributes and relationships.

Generative Engine Optimisation

Editorial and technical practices aimed at visibility in generative answers; no method guarantees a citation.

Knowledge graph

A structured network of entities, properties and verifiable relationships. Attach a source and date to each relationship; proximity in a graph does not establish a real-world connection.

Human in the loop

Human validation inside an automated chain before sensitive action.

Large Language Model

A model trained on large corpora to process and generate language.

LLM Optimisation

Work on clear entity descriptions, sources and content accessible to language systems; it does not directly modify their model.

Open Source Intelligence

Intelligence produced from legally accessible and methodically qualified sources.

Provenance

The chain linking a claim to its source, date and transformations. For a summary, retain the passage used and the transformations applied so another reader can retrace the reasoning.

Reversibility

Ability to leave a tool or supplier without losing data, continuity or freedom of choice.

Search Engine Optimisation

Optimisation of content discovery and understanding by search engines.

Weak signal

An incomplete indicator whose trajectory may announce significant change.

Digital sovereignty

Ability to understand dependencies and preserve technical and decision options.

Search Experience Optimisation

Joint optimisation of visibility, understanding, journey and conversion.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Generation enriched by retrieving passages from a bounded corpus.

Structured data

Information expressed through an explicit vocabulary for machine interpretation. Document field types, units and meaning. A machine-readable file can still contain inconsistent or unverifiable values.

Semantic footprint

The themes, attributes and associations publicly connected to an entity.

Answer share

Share of answers in a defined panel where an entity appears under a fixed criterion. Retain numerator, denominator and conditions; assess mention accuracy separately. This is not a universal metric.

Prompt injection

A hostile or untrusted instruction attempting to divert an AI system.

Decision log

Record of options, arguments, decisions, owners and review conditions.

Degraded mode

Planned minimum operation when the normal system is unavailable.

AI Overview

A generative summary shown in some search results using information drawn from multiple web sources.

Answer engine

An interface that directly formulates an answer and, where available, presents the sources used.

Canonical URL

The reference address indicated to search engines when the same content has several accessible variants. Align internal links, redirects and the sitemap with the preferred variant. A search engine may select another address when signals conflict.

Cited source

A page or document explicitly presented as support for an answer, synthesis or claim.

Grounding

Supporting a generated answer with information retrieved from identifiable sources.

IndexNow

A protocol for promptly notifying participating engines when a URL is added, changed or removed.

Knowledge panel

A panel that gathers structured information about an entity from sources considered relevant.

Multimodal search

Search combining several input or result formats such as text, image, voice and video.

Retrieval

The step of selecting from an index or corpus the items relevant to a query.

Semantic HTML

Use of HTML elements that clearly express the role and hierarchy of content. Headings, lists and buttons have different roles. Choose elements by purpose, then check reading order and keyboard use.

Vector embedding

A numerical representation of content used to compare semantic similarity.

Crawl budget

The volume and pace of URLs a search engine may choose to crawl on a site over a given period.

Crawlability

The ability of an authorised crawler to reach a URL and follow required resources.

Indexability

A page’s technical eligibility for an index, without a guarantee that it will be included.

Hreflang

An annotation connecting equivalent language versions of a page. Each set should identify equivalent versions, including the page itself. Translating a menu alone does not make two pages equivalent.

Canonical cluster

A set of URL variants a search engine may consolidate around one reference URL.

Primary source

The original document or actor directly responsible for information, considered in context.

Evidence register

A record linking a claim to its source, date, status and next verification.

Evidence confidence assessment

A reasoned assessment of how sources support a conclusion: origin, independence, consistency and limitations. This documentary judgment does not supply a statistical confidence level.

Correction log

A dated record of corrected errors, reasons and replaced versions.

Question panel

A stable set of questions used to compare AI answers over time.

Model variation

Differences in answers across models, sessions, contexts or observation times.

Digital provenance

The chain used to recover a content item’s origin, transformations and rights.

Content lifecycle

Rules for creating, validating, updating, merging and retiring content.

OAI-SearchBot

OpenAI crawler used to surface sites in ChatGPT search results; its access is controlled separately from GPTBot.

GPTBot

OpenAI crawler for content that may be used to train its foundation models.

Robots.txt

A file telling compliant crawlers which URLs they may request; it does not make content private. A blocked URL can remain known to a search engine. To observe noindex, a crawler must reach the response carrying it.

XML sitemap

A file signalling important URLs to search engines, with optional dates, images and language versions. List useful canonical addresses; lastmod should reflect a significant content change rather than every request for the file.

Core Web Vitals

Three field experience metrics: main-content loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and visual stability (CLS). Interpret each metric with its population and time window. A lab test helps diagnosis without representing every real visit.

LCP

The time until the largest content element in the initial viewport is displayed. The candidate can be an image or text block. Identify it before attributing the entire delay to image file size.

INP

A measure of how responsive a page is to interactions throughout a visit. Input delay, event-handler work and the next rendering contribute to latency. One fast click does not describe the entire visit.

CLS

A measure of unexpected movement of visible elements during a page’s lifetime. Reserving media space limits avoidable movement. Distinguish moving content from slow loading: they describe different problems.

Entity disambiguation

Distinguishing people, organisations or products with similar names using verifiable attributes.

Passage language

The language of a text segment that differs from the page language and should be marked locally in the markup. Identify a passage’s language when the change matters for pronunciation; an isolated proper name does not always need an annotation.

First-party data

Information collected directly by an organisation through its relationship with its audiences, with context and usage rights to establish.

Risk classification

Grouping cases by impact, likelihood or context to choose proportionate review and controls.

Evaluation set

A documented collection of representative and difficult cases used to test a system against stable criteria.

Acceptance criterion

An observable condition set before launch to decide whether a result is reliable enough.

Least privilege

Limiting a user’s, agent’s or tool’s permissions to the actions required for its task.

Tool boundary

The explicit limit on data and actions an agent can access through a connected tool.

Supplier exit plan

A documented process for recovering data, replacing integrations and maintaining service when changing suppliers.

Restore test

A controlled trial confirming that a backup can actually return a service and its data to a usable state.

JSON-LD

A format expressing machine-readable entities, properties and relationships in a page without replacing visible content. The context maps JSON keys to a vocabulary. Valid syntax is insufficient: also check the entities and relationships described.

Schema.org

A shared vocabulary of types and properties used to describe entities and pages in structured data. Choose types and properties matching visible content. The vocabulary describes information; it guarantees neither truth nor a rich result.

Rich result

A search presentation that may use a supported structured data type; valid markup does not guarantee display.

Semantic validation

Checking that values declared in markup agree with facts readers can actually see on the page.

Regression test

Repeating the same cases after a change to detect a capability or boundary that no longer works.

Indirect prompt injection

A hostile instruction placed in a source read by an agent, such as a page or document, to redirect its actions.

Content drift

The gap that develops over time between a page, its sources, other pages and language versions.

Content consolidation

Combining similar pages into a more useful answer while explicitly handling old URLs and links.

Accessible name

Text used by assistive technology to identify a control or field; it should match its visible purpose. Inspect the computed name in the accessibility tree. An icon or title attribute does not always provide the label users need.

Focus order

The sequence in which keyboard focus moves between interactive elements while preserving the journey’s meaning. Include dialogs and error messages in the check. After closing a dialog, verify where focus returns and whether the task can continue.

Contrast ratio

WCAG ratio of relative luminances: (L lighter + 0.05) / (L darker + 0.05). The ratio, from 1:1 to 21:1, is checked against the applicable criterion.

W3C · Contrast ratio

TTFB

Time from navigation start to the first response byte, including connection, redirects and server response.

FCP

Time until the browser first renders visible content such as text or an image; it does not measure the largest element.

TBT

A lab measure adding up the time long tasks block the main thread between FCP and Time to Interactive.

Field data

Measurements from real visits, interpreted by period, device population and sample size.

Server-side validation

Checking received input on the server even when the browser provides immediate validation. Repeat the check with data sent directly to the server. Form constraints can be bypassed; access permissions require a separate check.

Alternative text

Text conveying an image’s purpose or information in context without needless repetition. For an image acting as a link, describe its destination or action. A complex chart also needs a text equivalent of the useful data.

Decorative image

A visual with no information needed for the task; its alternative can be empty to avoid noise. Decide by its use on the page. The same photograph may decorate a banner yet inform a record explaining its details.

Source independence

Two observations do not depend on the same collection; repeated accounts of one document remain one origin.

Circular sourcing

Publications cite or repeat a claim without adding an independent observation.

Corroboration

Support for a claim from distinct items whose origin, context and independence have been checked.

Signal timeline

Dated observations separating when an event happened, was published and was discovered.

Timestamp

Time attached to a trace, whose precision, timezone and source need to be recorded.

Name collision

Different entities sharing a name; the label alone cannot establish identity.

Visual geolocation

Comparison of visual clues with spatial references to support a place claim without automatic certainty.

Reverse image search

Search for indexed versions of an image; it does not guarantee the original or capture date.

Web archive

A dated copy available to an archive service; it does not validate the page’s claims.

Provenance manifest

Assertions linked to a file and its history; technical validation does not prove a caption is true.

Agent mandate

Explicit scope of tasks, data, tools and decisions an agent may use, including human approvals and exclusions.

Stop condition

Predefined rule that suspends action when result, cost or risk exceeds the accepted scope.

Reference sample

Fixed set of questions, situations or pages used to compare observations across a stable scope.

Competing hypothesis

Alternative explanation retained until the available evidence can distinguish it from others.

Escalation threshold

Observable criterion that moves a signal from routine monitoring to a designated decision or response.

Baseline

Initial state measured with a known method and period, used to compare change without assuming its cause.

Control map

Mapping of risks to safeguards, operating evidence, review frequency and owners.

Exit test

Bounded exercise checking whether data and functions can be transferred or restored outside a supplier.

SIREN

Nine-digit French identifier for a legal unit. It helps reconcile company records without implying that an address or establishment is the same.

SIRET

Fourteen-digit French establishment identifier: a SIREN followed by an internal number. An establishment change may alter the SIRET without changing the SIREN.

Sirene status notice

Snapshot of publishable Sirene information for a legal unit or establishment; Insee states that it has no legal value.

RNE

French business register accessible through the INPI portal. Compare a record at its consultation date with the available filings and documents.

BODACC

French publication of notices on events in business life. A notice documents a published event, not the whole current situation.

BRIS

European infrastructure connecting national business registers; useful for tracing a cross-border company back to the issuing register.

RDAP

Structured access protocol for domain or Internet resource registration data. Public fields may be limited and do not by themselves identify a site operator.

ASN

Number identifying an autonomous system in Internet routing. A network relationship indicates infrastructure, not necessarily ownership of content.

Applicant

Person or organisation named in a patent or trademark application. Distinguish it from the inventor, current owner and commercial operator.

Procurement notice

Publication of a public purchasing stage. Check whether it announces competition, an award or a change before inferring a contract.

Dataset metadata

Information on a dataset’s source, producer, period, coverage, format, updates and licence that shapes how it can be interpreted.

Temporal coverage

Period represented by observations in a dataset, distinct from its publication and last update dates.

Reuse licence

Terms specifying permitted uses of a dataset or document and obligations such as attribution.

Capture date

Time when an archive service or investigator saved a version. It does not alone establish creation or first-publication time.

Acquisition date

Time an image or measurement was collected by a sensor, distinct from product publication and later processing.

Cloud cover

Estimated share of a satellite image covered by clouds; a scene-wide figure does not guarantee visibility of the area under study.

Patent family

Group of patent documents linked through one or more priority claims; membership can vary with the database definition.

Nice classes

Administrative product and service categories used in trademark filings; a class alone does not define the exact scope of a filing.

Trademark status

State shown for an application or registration on a given date. Check register, territory, listed goods and later events.

Document identifier

Registry reference for a specific item. Retain it with the URL, version and date to find the same item again.

Correction notice

Publication changing an earlier procurement notice, such as deadline, lot or conditions. Keep both versions and dates before comparing tenders.

Award notice

Publication stating an award decision or procedure result. It does not, by itself, prove delivery or contract performance.

Operative part

Part of a judgment or authority decision stating what was decided. Read it with the reasoning, procedure and facts.

Advocate General opinion

Analysis presented to the Court of Justice of the European Union in some cases. It informs the debate but is not the judgment.

Archival call number

Identifier assigned to an archival unit so it can be retrieved. Record it with the institution, fonds and description.

Archive fonds

Documents created or received by a person or organisation during its activity. Their origin helps interpret an individual item.

Finding aid

Inventory or guide describing holdings and call numbers. It points to documents but its summary does not replace reading an item.

Digitised edition

Digital version of an identifiable edition. Separate the work’s date, the copy’s date and its online publication.

Design right

Intellectual property relating to a product’s appearance in a territory and protection state. Distinguish it from a trade mark or patent.

Office of origin

Authority where an intellectual property right is filed or registered. Aggregators may show several offices with different coverage.

Appeal status

Dated indication of a known challenge to a decision. A published decision may still change through the procedure.

Cited passage

Page, view, paragraph or exact passage supporting a claim in a document. It enables a check beyond a general link.

Statistical unit

Person, establishment, transaction or area represented by one observation. Similarly named series may count different units.

Series break

Discontinuity caused by a changed definition, method, coverage or base year. An apparent trend may reflect that break.

Statistical revision

Change to an already published figure after new information or methodological improvement. Keep each extraction date and version.

Data distribution

In DCAT, a representation of a dataset, for example CSV or JSON. Access may use an API; the access service and the distribution are distinct objects.

W3C · DCAT Distribution

File checksum

Digest calculated from a file to identify the exact version processed. A matching checksum does not establish data accuracy.

Metadata quality

Extent to which producer, licence, resources and coverage are documented. It does not directly measure record accuracy.

Hero image

The visual representing a page topic in its HTML content. It should agree with the title and context.

Responsive image variant

An image version suited to screen width or density. It avoids unnecessary transfer while preserving a fallback source.

Image caption

Visible text placing an image in context, such as subject, date or source, without overclaiming.

EXIF metadata

Information embedded in some image files, such as description, creator or rights. It guarantees no search ranking.

Image rights metadata

Information about image owner, licence or rights-acquisition page; always check the original licence.

@id identifier

Stable URI joining nodes in a JSON-LD graph. Person, article and page should retain separate identities.

Rich result eligibility

A page meeting supported types, properties and provider rules. Eligibility does not guarantee rich result display.

Denominator

Reference population or quantity used to calculate a rate. A different denominator may make figures incomparable.

Modelled estimate

Value produced statistically when direct observations are incomplete. Retain model, assumptions and uncertainty range.

Editorial revision

Verified update to content, sources, dates, links and language variants; distinguish a minor correction from a substantive change.

ORCID

Persistent identifier connecting a person with a record of contributions and affiliations. Check who supplied each entry and when; the profile does not prove current employment.

ROR

Persistent Research Organization Registry identifier distinguishing research organisations despite name variations. It does not independently validate an author’s affiliation.

PMID

Identifier of a bibliographic reference in PubMed. The record and abstract do not replace the full text; a PMID differs from a DOI and PMCID.

PMCID

Identifier of a document in PubMed Central. Check its version, updates and reuse rights: free access does not remove copyright.

Preprint

Version made public before peer review. Identify its repository, date and version, then look for any later publication without treating the two texts as identical.

Memento

In the RFC 7089 framework, a resource representing a prior state of another resource.

TimeMap

List of Memento addresses for a resource. Distinguish listed states from readable ones.

WARC

Format grouping resource records and metadata. Preserving a file does not resolve its interpretation.

Archive replay

Consulting an archival resource through an interface. Record useful components and destinations actually read.

Idempotence

Property whereby repeating an operation has the same intended effect as executing it once. It does not guarantee an identical response or safety of every retry.

Control case

Case with a known expected result used to compare observed behaviour. Describe the control and conditions; it does not replace real cases.

SHA-256

256-bit cryptographic digest of file bytes. Supports integrity comparison; it proves neither authorship, time nor factual truth.

Retraction

Notice withdrawing a publication from reliable scientific literature. Read its scope and reasons, which do not automatically establish misconduct.

Expression of concern

Notice of uncertainty about a publication during checks. Distinguish it from correction and retraction; preserve the notice with the text.

API pagination

Dividing results into pages or cursors. A successful response may return only part of a collection; check pages, unique identifiers and stopping rules.

RNA

French national association register; its identifier replaces neither SIREN nor SIRET and coverage excludes the Alsace-Moselle local regime.

VIES

European system querying national VAT databases. Distinguish its dated response from an availability error.

Clinical trial identifier

Stable registry reference for a trial. Secondary identifiers connect registrations of one trial without making them independent studies.

Data dictionary

Description of dataset fields: meaning, type, format, unit, codes, missing values, keys and schema version.

Missing value

Absence of a measurement or information whose cause needs documentation. Zero, empty string and not applicable are not automatically equivalent.

Composite key

Fields jointly identifying a row, such as entity and period. Removing a component can create multiple matches.

Working translation

Translation prepared for analysis or reading, distinct from a publisher-issued version. It links to the original and explains ambiguous terms.

Financial authorisation

Competent authority permission for a defined scope. It validates neither every product nor a contact copying an authorised entity’s name.

Data grain

Object and level represented by one row. Grain determines keys and valid aggregation: company, establishment and transaction differ.

Join cardinality

Number of matching rows between tables: one-to-one, many-to-one or many-to-many. Row multiplication can change totals.

UTC

Time reference for expressing an instant. UTC conversion needs a known offset; it does not certify the source clock.

Calendar date

A calendar day without an implied time or offset. Converting it to midnight UTC adds unsupported precision.

UTC offset

Difference between local time and UTC at an instant. A fixed offset does not describe every rule of an IANA zone.

M49

UN Statistics Division classification of countries or areas and statistical groupings. Its codes contain no geometry.

Constant prices

Amounts adjusted for price changes to compare volume changes on a reference basis. Use a suitable method and index; currency conversion alone is insufficient.

Insee · Prix courants et constants

Statistical suppression

Withholding a value to protect statistical information. A suppressed cell is not zero; retain its status and respect the protection.

SDMX

Standard for statistical data and metadata exchange. Producer structures define dimensions, codes and attributes; a shared standard does not guarantee identical methods.

DSD

Data Structure Definition: SDMX structure describing dimensions, measures and attributes. Dimension order helps interpret series keys.

DCAT

W3C vocabulary describing catalogues, datasets, distributions and data services. It makes relationships explicit without certifying quality or availability.

Catalogue record

Description of a resource’s registration in a catalogue. Its modification date may differ from that of the described dataset or file.

GeoJSON

JSON format for geographic geometries and features. RFC 7946 uses WGS 84 in degrees, ordered longitude then latitude.

Coordinate reference system

System giving meaning to coordinates, axes and units. Identify reference systems and transformations before comparing numeric pairs.

Check digit

Character or digits calculated from an identifier to detect some copying errors. A coherent check proves neither assignment nor identity.

ISBN-13

Thirteen-digit publication identifier starting with 978 or 979, with weighted modulus-10 check. Verify edition and format; arithmetic does not verify allocated ranges.

ISSN

Eight-character identifier of a continuing resource, ending with a check digit or X. ISSN assignment does not guarantee content quality.

Soft 404

A page returned with a success status, usually 200, whose content signals absence or an error. Status alone therefore does not prove that the expected resource was served.

Sampling frame

The list or mechanism used to select units from a population. Record what it covers and omits: random selection from an incomplete list does not correct its coverage error.

HTTP 202 — request accepted

A response indicating that a request was accepted for processing, without confirming completion or eventual success. Keep the offered monitoring mechanism rather than concluding from this code alone.

CSV dialect

A table’s delimiter, quoting, encoding and header conventions. Establish them before counting cells or interpreting values.

Exact duplicate

A record whose values all match another record. It differs from a repeated key; deletion requires knowing the intended grain.

Observed candidate key

A column or combination with no missing or repeated values in the studied file. This observation does not guarantee uniqueness in future versions.

Surrounding whitespace

Whitespace before or after a value. It may explain failed exact matches; remove it only under a documented rule suitable for the data.

Unresolved source conflict

Incompatible claims after aligning object, time and scope. Retain both documents and state the check that could resolve the conflict.

Redirect chain

Responses and addresses between a requested URL and its final destination. A successful final status does not prove the cited document was preserved.

Pagination cursor

Service-provided value for continuing through results. Keep it with filters and version; it need not be a number or an indefinitely reusable address.

Statistical stock

Quantity describing a position at a reference date. Summed monthly stocks are not automatically an annual stock; define the measure before aggregation.

Statistical flow

Quantity covering events over a period. Before adding flows, check compatible definitions and non-overlapping intervals.

Cumulative total

Value summing flows from a defined starting point. Retain origin, resets and revisions; changes need not represent new events.

Percentage point

Difference unit for percentages: 20% to 25% is +5 points. This differs from the +25% relative change on the initial base.

Relative change

Final minus initial value divided by the initial value. Multiply by 100 for a percentage; it is undefined on a zero base.

Negative search

Search with no matching result under documented query, filters, service and date. It is not by itself general evidence that the fact is absent.

End-to-end latency

Time between explicitly selected events, such as request sent and accepted output. Name boundaries: first displayed content is not journey completion.

Cold cache

Test condition without relevant data in the cache under study. State which cache; a fresh browser does not guarantee an empty server cache.

Warm cache

Test condition allowing reuse of relevant data or components. Describe preparation and separate it from first calls in comparisons.

Constant geographic scope

Method comparing observations for the same territorial units. It separates changes in the phenomenon from changes created by adding or removing a territory.

Weighted mean

Mean accounting for each observation’s weight. To combine comparable rates, use their relevant denominators; an unweighted mean gives equal weight to different population sizes.

Statistical vintage

State of a series available at a date or in a particular release, including revisions then known. Keeping that vintage allows results to be reproduced after updates.

Conditional rate

Proportion calculated within a defined subset, such as accessible answers. Report its selection condition and excluded counts without treating it as a rate for all attempts.

HTTP 206 — partial content

Response delivering part of the requested representation. Read the received range and request context; an accessible portion does not establish that the whole document was examined.

Imputation

Method assigning an estimated value to a missing observation under explicit assumptions. Keep the imputation marker and original missing state; the result remains an estimate even when published by the producer.

URL fragment

Part after # in a URL, often identifying a section. Its presence in a link does not establish that the page still has the corresponding target after migration.

Private cache

Cache dedicated to one user, for example in their browser. Its state can differ from a shared cache; a new-session test does not represent every previously stored resource.

Shared cache

Cache able to reuse responses for multiple users, for example at an HTTP intermediary. Check its version and rules separately from the browser; renewing a session does not ensure its update.

ECLI

Five-part identifier for a judicial decision: prefix, country or system, court, year and identifying number. Distinct from a CELEX number.

DOCDB simple family

Patent applications grouped by the same priorities. Declare this definition before counting families.

INPADOC extended family

Patent applications linked through priorities, directly or indirectly. Its scope can exceed that of a simple family.

Crossmark

A DOI that resolves identifies a document; it does not establish its editorial status. Before reusing a scientific conclusion, look for linked corrections, retractions and other updates. No update link is not evidence that no correction exists: coverage depends on deposits and publisher participation. A preprint and published article may have separate identifiers.

DCAT 3 · hasVersion / inSeries

An annual release and a correction to the same file serve different purposes. DCAT 3 describes resource versions and datasets belonging to a series explicitly; these links do not replace reading the methodology. Reading example: releases covering 2024 and 2025 form a temporal sequence; a corrected 2024 file still covers 2024. Check the observation period, publication date, revision and distribution format separately.

Optimistic concurrency

A check at write time that the version previously read is still current. A failed strong If-Match comparison normally prevents the change and yields 412. Read again and resolve differences; retrying after removing the condition would remove the protection.

Statistical confidence level

Under the procedure’s assumptions, target share of intervals covering the parameter across repeated samples, for example 95%. It is not a posterior probability for this fixed parameter.

NIST · Confidence intervals