Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Also called: AEO, AI search optimization, AI answer optimization, answer engine optimisation, seo for ai

The practice of structuring content so that AI-powered answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — surface your business as the authoritative response to a relevant question.

When someone types a question into a traditional search engine, they get a list of links. When they ask an AI-powered answer engine, they get a direct answer — and only a handful of sources get cited in that answer. Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the discipline of making sure your content is the one those engines quote. This involves writing content in a clear question-and-answer format, using FAQ and structured-data schema so engines can parse it, being specific rather than generic, and covering the questions your customers actually ask. For a local service business, this means when a homeowner asks Perplexity “what is an AI receptionist for a small business,” the answer cites your page. AEO matters because AI-assisted search is how a growing share of people find information — and being the cited answer is worth more than a page-two link.

AEO is closely related to generative engine optimization (GEO) and LLM SEO. The distinction is one of emphasis: AEO is about being the answer in any answer engine (including Google's AI Overviews and voice assistants), while GEO focuses specifically on getting cited inside the text a generative model writes back.