Glossary
Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
Server-side rendering is generating a page's HTML on the server so its content is present in the initial response, before any JavaScript runs in the browser.
Many AI crawlers do not execute JavaScript. A page whose content is assembled client-side may therefore be seen as an empty shell — the markup arrives, the substance never does.
This is among the most common and most severe AEO failures, because it is invisible in a browser. The page looks perfect to a human and is blank to the machine.
Why it matters
If your content is not in the served HTML, no amount of quality or structured data helps. It is the first thing worth checking and the most consequential thing to get wrong.