What Is AEO and Why Does It Matter?

Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the practice of structuring your content so AI-powered answer engines can understand it, trust it and quote it. Those engines include ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Google's AI Overviews.

How AEO differs from SEO

Classic SEO aims to rank a page in a list of links. AEO aims to have your business named inside the answer itself. The two overlap heavily, since answer engines still read the web, but AEO puts more weight on clear, quotable facts.

A related term, GEO (generative engine optimisation), is often used for the same work with a focus on generative AI tools.

What answer engines look for

• Direct answers. A question as a heading, followed by a one or two sentence answer.
• Specific facts. Prices, locations, opening hours, service areas and product specifications stated plainly.
• Structured data. Schema markup such as Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, FAQPage and Article.
• Consistency. The same name, address and phone number everywhere online.
• Authority signals. Mentions on other reputable sites, reviews and a clear "about" page.
• Crawlable pages. Content that loads without depending on heavy JavaScript.

A practical AEO checklist

1. 1Write an FAQ section for each service using questions customers actually ask.
2. 2Put a short summary at the top of each important page.
3. 3Add schema markup and test it.
4. 4Keep your Google Business Profile complete and consistent with your site.
5. 5Publish useful guides that answer "how", "how much" and "which is best" questions in your field.
6. 6Check that your robots.txt does not block AI crawlers you want to be read by.

Measuring it

AEO is harder to measure than rankings. Useful signals are referral traffic from AI tools in your analytics, branded search growth, and simply asking the major assistants about your category and noting whether you appear.