> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.platelunchcollective.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Latency

> Latency is the time delay between a user's query and the system's response — a key performance metric for both traditional search engines and AI search tools.

*Technical implementation* · *AI Search Infrastructure*

## Definition

Latency is the time delay between a user's query and the system's response — a key performance metric for both traditional search engines and AI search tools. Server response latency affects crawl efficiency; response latency in AI search affects user experience and platform adoption.

## Why It Matters for AI Search

Server latency affects AI crawler accessibility. Slow server response times reduce crawl efficiency — AI crawlers may time out on slow pages and fail to index them. Additionally, slow page load times generate poor Core Web Vitals scores, which can depress overall page authority. For brands hosting content that AI systems should crawl, maintaining fast, reliable server response times is a basic technical hygiene requirement.

## Related Terms

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Core web vitals" href="/ai-search-glossary/core-web-vitals" />

  <Card title="Crawl budget" href="/ai-search-glossary/crawl-budget" />

  <Card title="Technical SEO" href="/ai-search-glossary/technical-seo" />

  <Card title="Content accessibility" href="/ai-search-glossary/content-accessibility" />

  <Card title="Indexability" href="/ai-search-glossary/indexability" />
</CardGroup>

## Relevant Plate Lunch Collective Services

[AI SEO](https://www.platelunchcollective.com/services/ai-seo)