# Glossary | answer.cloud Docs

> Canonical source: [Glossary | answer.cloud Docs](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/reference/glossary/)

Find definitions for Answer Cloud sites, publishing, retrieval, analytics, and audit terms, with links to the guides that explain each workflow.

reference

Glossary

Find definitions for Answer Cloud sites, publishing, retrieval, analytics, and audit terms, with links to the guides that explain each workflow.

Reviewed November 1, 2026

These terms describe distinct parts of Answer Cloud. Use the same definitions when requesting agent work, interpreting reports, or comparing outcomes.

## Accounts and targets

| Term                  | Meaning                                                                                  |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Organization / workspace | The owner of sites, content, memberships, and organization access.                      |
| Organization ID       | Numeric identifier used to select an approved workspace in MCP calls.                    |
| Hosted website        | A complete static website published by Answer Cloud; site kind `hosting`.                |
| Companion             | A CMS-driven resource alongside a website that stays on another host; kind `byo_cms`.    |
| Site slug             | Stable DNS-safe operational identifier used by site-specific tools.                      |
| Site ID               | Numeric site identifier used by integrations and stored data.                            |
| Canonical URL         | The preferred public HTML address for a page and its attribution.                        |
| Origin                | The scheme and host, with port when applicable, used to identify a website context.      |

A name, slug, and ID are not interchangeable. See [organizations and sites](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/account/organizations-and-sites/) before operating across multiple targets.

## Publishing

| Term                  | Meaning                                                                                  |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Astro source          | Editable project files that build the static website.                                    |
| Artifact              | The packaged built output supplied for a deployment.                                    |
| Deploy ID             | Numeric identifier for inspecting/finalizing one deployment record.                      |
| Sequence              | Site-local release number used for history and rollback.                                |
| Staging               | Review destination in an enabled independent release workflow.                           |
| Production            | Public release destination for the site's intended visitors.                            |
| Promotion             | Publish a processed staging deploy to the active production domain.                     |
| CMS collection        | Content model with entries, fields, URL patterns, and shared templates.                  |
| Draft                 | Saved changes that have not replaced the published content.                             |
| Archive               | Remove an entry publicly while preserving its recoverable record.                       |
| Republish             | Render already-published CMS content again, commonly after template changes.            |

A live pipeline status does not mean the deploy is the current production pointer, and a deployment rollback does not necessarily restore historical CMS text. See [deployment tools](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/reference/deploy-tools/) and [CMS lifecycle](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/cms/content-lifecycle/).

## AI and discovery

| Term                  | Meaning                                                                                  |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| AEO                   | Answer engine optimization: making useful information accessible, understandable, and verifiable for answer-oriented retrieval. |
| Grounding             | Using relevant published content when forming an on-site chat answer.                   |
| Embedding             | A numerical representation used for semantic retrieval.                                 |
| Retrieval             | Finding source information relevant to a question.                                     |
| Citation              | A source reference included in a particular answer.                                    |
| Query fanout          | Exploring related searches or questions; audit suggestions are not observed private queries. |
| Markdown mirror       | Text representation of a published HTML page.                                          |
| llms.txt              | Proposed Markdown guide to useful site resources.                                      |
| Visibility Audit      | Saved heuristic assessment with evidence and generated recommendations.                 |

See [AI visibility](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/ai-visibility/overview/) for the limits of each signal.

## Analytics

A **request** is an observed access to a URL. A **pageview event** records page activity under the reporting definitions. A **session** groups related browser activity; it is not interchangeable with requests. An **AI referral** is an identifiable visit from an AI source. An **agent classification** labels an observed request based on available evidence; it is not necessarily verified provider identity.

A **conversation** is a stored on-site chat thread, including one started by a form. **Answer tests** are a defined sample of questions and recorded responses. **Reporting freshness** describes how current the available consolidated data is. Keep these measures separate: none alone describes every interaction with independent AI services.

Continue with [analytics concepts](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/analytics/overview/) and [report methodology](https://www.answer.cloud/docs/ai-visibility/methodology/).