Answer ยท AEO / GEO

What is AEO (answer engine optimization)?

A clear explanation of AEO, how it differs from SEO and GEO, and how to start.

Short answer: AEO (answer engine optimization) is the practice of optimizing content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews quote your brand as the source. Where SEO targets a ranking position, AEO targets being the cited answer, using direct answers, schema, machine-readable content and entity authority. GEO (generative engine optimization) is a near-synonym.

AEO vs SEO vs GEO

They overlap, but AEO adds citable structure, schema, an llms.txt manifest, AI-crawler access and entity authority on top of good content.

How to start

  1. Answer real questions directly, in question-form headings.
  2. Add schema and an llms.txt manifest.
  3. Allow AI crawlers and index via Bing and IndexNow.
  4. Publish original data worth citing.

Frequently asked questions

What is AEO (answer engine optimization)?

AEO is optimizing content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews cite your brand as the source. It targets being the quoted answer rather than a ranking position, using direct answers, schema, machine-readable content and entity authority.

Is AEO the same as GEO?

Largely yes. AEO (answer engine optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) both aim to make AI engines cite your content; the terms are used interchangeably.

Do I need AEO if I already rank on Google?

Increasingly yes. Ranking gets you the click that still happens, but a growing share of searches are answered by AI without a click, so you also need to be the cited source in those answers.

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