AI search optimization: get cited and recommended by AI.
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is how you get your business named when people ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews for a recommendation. It’s the layer on top of SEO built for how search actually works in 2026 — and it’s where most businesses still have no presence.
What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
AEO is the practice of optimizing your content and your brand so AI answer engines cite and recommend you. Traditional SEO wins a position in a list of links; AEO makes you the trusted source an AI quotes directly — often before the user ever sees a list of links. As more searches end inside an AI answer, being recommended matters as much as being ranked.
AEO vs SEO: what’s the difference?
| SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in search results | Be cited / recommended in AI answers |
| Unit | The page | The entity (your brand) |
| Wins on | Relevance, links, authority | Quotable content, mentions, consistency |
| Measured by | Rankings, clicks | AI citations, recommendations |
How do AI engines decide who to recommend?
AI assistants don’t rank the way Google does — they assemble an answer from sources they trust and can extract cleanly. When someone asks “who’s the best [service] in [city]?”, the model leans on businesses it has seen repeatedly across reviews, directories, and articles, with a clear, consistent identity it can quote with confidence. That’s why AEO is as much about your entity — your name, consistency, mentions, and reviews — as it is about your pages.
How to get visible in AI search
The fundamentals that get you cited — the same checklist I run for clients.
- Answer first — open every page with a direct 40–60 word answer.
- Use question-style headings that match how people actually ask.
- Make facts extractable — stats, prices, and specs in text, lists, and tables.
- Build a consistent entity — same name, description, and details everywhere.
- Earn brand mentions and reviews across trusted sites and directories.
- Add structured data (Organization, Person, Service, FAQ, Breadcrumb).
- Allow AI crawlers — GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot.
- Show freshness — visible updated dates and a regular refresh cycle.
AEO around the world
AI search is global: AI Overviews now run in 200+ countries and dozens of languages, and most businesses everywhere have yet to claim their place in AI answers — which makes this the best moment to get recommended before competitors do. See how it applies in your market: New York, London, Singapore, or Dubai.
AEO, answered
What is AEO (answer engine optimization)?
Is AEO the same as GEO?
Does SEO still matter if I do AEO?
How do I measure AI search visibility?
Want to be the business AI recommends?
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