AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
AEO is optimizing so that AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity cite your content as a source — unlike SEO, the goal is being included in the answer rather than ranking above it.
How is it different from SEO?
SEO is a fight to move up a list of results. AEO assumes an environment where there is no list — just one answer. A precise, quotable definition matters more than a headline engineered for clicks.
How should content be written?
Put the direct answer first, in one sentence, then the supporting reasoning. FAQ formatting and structured data are the shapes answer engines cite most readily. Writing that saves its conclusion for the end rarely gets quoted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Does AEO hurt existing SEO performance?
No. Clear definitions, structured data, and FAQs help search engines in the same ways, so the two generally improve together.
Q. How do you measure AEO?
There's no standard metric yet. In practice teams query the major answer engines periodically and check whether their content is being cited.