AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to be the answer AI search engines and voice assistants cite.
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so an answer engine — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews — can extract and cite it directly. It favours pages that answer a specific question in a self-contained passage, back the claim with evidence, and expose structure through headings and schema.
Definition
AEO is the practice of optimizing content to be selected as the source answer by AI-powered search experiences — Google SGE (Search Generative Experience), Bing Chat, Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, and voice assistants.
AEO extends traditional SEO by focusing on direct answers, structured data, FAQ schema, and content formatted for extraction by large language models.
Why It Matters
AI-powered search is replacing traditional blue links for many queries. If your content is not structured for extraction by LLMs, you will lose visibility as AI search grows. AEO is the next evolution of SEO.
Example
A glossary page with a clear definition paragraph, FAQ schema, and DefinedTerm structured data is much more likely to be cited by Perplexity or Google SGE than a page with the same information buried in long paragraphs.
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