What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Optimising content to be cited by AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google's AI Overview when they generate answers to user questions.
Understanding the Details
AEO extends SEO thinking to a world where users get answers from AI rather than clicking through to websites. When someone asks ChatGPT about a topic in your space, will your company be mentioned? AEO involves structuring content so AI systems can extract and cite it accurately, building authority signals that AI models use to determine citation-worthiness, and optimising for the question patterns users ask AI. The goal is visibility in AI-generated answers, not just traditional search results.
How It Works in Practice
FAQ structured data
A company implements FAQ schema on their support pages so AI systems can extract specific answers to common questions and cite the source.
Authoritative definitions
A software company defines industry terms clearly on their site, becoming the source AI models reference when users ask 'what is [term]?'
Original research
Publishing unique data and insights that AI systems cite as evidence when generating answers about industry trends.
Why It Matters
As more users get answers from AI rather than visiting websites directly, companies without AI visibility risk being excluded from the conversation entirely. AEO ensures you're mentioned when AI discusses topics in your space.
What People Often Get Wrong
AEO replaces SEO entirely. Actually, traditional SEO remains important while AEO becomes an additional consideration.
You can 'trick' AI into citing you. Actually, AI models use multiple signals to assess authority and relevance.
AEO only matters for AI chatbots. Actually, Google's AI Overviews and other search features also use these principles.
How We Handle Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
We optimise for AI visibility through clear content structure, authoritative sourcing, and schema implementation that helps AI systems understand and cite your content accurately.
Related Terms
Common Questions
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