What is AEO?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the optimisation of content for answer engines — for getting ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Google’s AI overviews to cite you directly as the source of an answer. While classic SEO gets you among the links in the results, AEO gets you into the answer itself, which the user sees first and often as the only one.
Why AEO emerged
The way people search is changing faster than ever. Instead of typing a few keywords into a search box and clicking through a list of links, they ask an AI assistant a whole question and get a finished answer. A large share of these users never reach the classic results list — the answer is enough. If your content isn’t prepared so AI can understand and cite it, you’re invisible to this growing stream of people, even if you rank first on Google.
How AEO works in practice
Language models love clear structure and direct answers. The most effective format is therefore a question as a heading, a concise direct answer of two or three sentences right beneath it, and only then the detail. That way AI finds an answer it can cite straight away, and you gain visibility. Structured data (schema.org) helps too, telling machines unambiguously who you are, what you offer and how to reach you. Credibility matters as well — AI favours sources that come across as expert, specific and current.
Three steps to get started with AEO
You don’t have to rewrite your entire site at once. Start with these steps:
- Find out what people ask. Not which keywords they search, but the whole questions they put to AI in your field.
- Rewrite key content into question–direct answer–detail format. Every important page should answer the question it addresses directly and concisely.
- Add structured data. Mark up your content with schema.org so machines don’t have to guess what’s what.
AEO and SEO don’t compete
It’s not about choosing one over the other. Well-done SEO — a fast site, clean structure, quality content — is the foundation AEO builds on. AEO just adds an extra layer: content phrased so a machine can use it as an answer. Whoever starts today gains a visibility lead that will be expensive to catch up in a year. Those cited first in AI answers build an authority competitors will struggle to overtake.
