Answer Engine Optimization
AEOAnswer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of optimizing a business so that AI answer engines — like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Perplexity — recommend or cite it when users ask questions.
Traditional SEO optimizes for a ranked list of ten blue links. AEO optimizes for the single synthesized answer an AI assistant returns — where being "position 4" means nothing if the model never names you at all.
AEO overlaps with SEO (clean content, strong entities, structured data, authority all still matter) but adds a new success metric: whether the answer engine actually mentions your business. That is why measuring AEO starts with checking your AI Visibility — asking the engines real customer questions and seeing who they name.
For local businesses, AEO is quickly becoming as important as the Local Pack, because buyers increasingly ask an assistant "who's the best dentist near me?" instead of scrolling Google.
Frequently asked
Is AEO the same as SEO?
No. SEO aims to rank a page in a list of results; AEO aims to be the business an AI answer engine names or cites in its synthesized answer. They share fundamentals but measure success differently.
How do you measure AEO?
By probing AI engines with the questions real customers ask ("best plumber in Austin") and recording whether the business is named. That mention rate is its AI visibility score.
Related terms
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the discipline of optimizing content and brand sig...
AI visibility is a measure of how often AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, and others) name o...
Google AI Overviews are the AI-generated summaries Google shows at the top of many search...
AI share of voice is the percentage of AI answers in a category or market where a given bu...