AEO in one paragraph
Answer engine optimization (AEO) means optimizing for the answer, not the link. A search engine shows ten links and lets you choose. An answer engine reads those pages for you and writes one reply. AEO is the work of making sure that reply mentions you, gets your facts right, and links to your site as the source.
Why AEO matters now
- Buyers ask AI first. More software research starts with “what’s the best X for Y?” in ChatGPT or Perplexity, not a page of Google results.
- Answers are short lists. In our AEO Index, AI answers named about five or six brands per question across 15 software categories. If you aren’t on that list, you aren’t considered.
- Google answers too. AI Overviews sit above the organic results for many questions, so even classic search now starts with an AI answer.
How answer engines choose what to say
- Turn the question into searches. The engine rewrites the question into one or more web searches.
- Read the top pages. It fetches a handful of results: review sites, “best of” lists, vendor pages, forums.
- Write the answer. It names the options those pages agree on, and repeats the facts they state most clearly.
- Cite sources. It links the pages it relied on.
Training data plays a part too: a model has its own sense of which brands lead a category. But for “best” and “vs” questions, today’s answer engines lean heavily on what they read in the moment.
The AEO playbook
1. Let AI crawlers in
Allow OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot and Bingbot in robots.txt, and check your CDN isn’t blocking them. Serve your main copy as HTML that works without JavaScript. Our free AEO audit checks this in seconds.
2. Answer first
Start each key page with a plain, one-to-two sentence answer to the question it targets, then back it up. AI tools quote clear statements, not marketing slogans.
3. State the facts AI needs
Who you’re for, what you cost, what you integrate with and how you compare. Put them in text, in tables and in structured data, and keep them current.
4. Build the pages AI cites
Comparison pages, “alternatives” pages, honest guides and free tools. These match the questions buyers ask AI tools, and they get cited.
5. Be named elsewhere
AI answers repeat what independent sites say. Get onto the review sites, “best of” lists, directories and community threads for your category.
6. Measure answers, not just rankings
Track a fixed list of prompts across engines every week: are you named, in what position, with which facts, and which page is cited?
AEO, GEO, LLM SEO: same thing?
Mostly. GEO (generative engine optimization) comes from academic research, and LLM SEO and AI SEO are common in marketing. All describe being in the AI answer. For how they differ from classic search work, read AEO vs SEO.
