AI visibility & AEO
What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
AEO is the practice of getting your brand accurately mentioned and cited in the answers AI assistants generate, not only ranking in classic search results.
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is optimizing so that AI assistants, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, mention, cite, and recommend your brand in the answers they generate.
Classic SEO targets a ranked list of blue links. Answer engines instead synthesize a single response from many sources. AEO focuses on the inputs to that synthesis: a clear brand entity, well-structured and well-sourced content, and authoritative third-party corroboration.
How it relates to GEO and SEO. AEO overlaps heavily with generative engine optimization (GEO) and complements, never replaces, SEO. Buyers use both search and AI assistants, so the goal is to be present in both.
Related questions
How do AI models find information about brands?
AI assistants draw on training data plus live retrieval from the web, then synthesize an answer and cite the sources they trust most.
How does AI-optimized content influence ChatGPT and other assistants?
Clear, well-structured, well-sourced content is easier for AI assistants to retrieve, trust, and cite, raising the odds your brand appears in their answers.