Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so answer engines like AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and voice assistants can extract and present it directly as the answer to a query.
Answer Engine Optimization focuses on being the source an answer engine pulls from rather than just ranking in a list of links. It emphasizes clear, self-contained answers placed near the top of a page, question-based headings that mirror how people ask, concise definitions, and structured data that helps machines understand entities and relationships. The goal is for an AI or voice assistant to lift your passage verbatim as the response a user receives.
AEO overlaps heavily with Generative Engine Optimization and traditional SEO but shifts the success metric from blue-link rankings to being cited or read aloud as the answer. Practical tactics include writing a 40-to-65-word citable summary for each key question, using FAQ and Q&A formats, keeping facts accurate and attributable, and maintaining strong topical authority so engines trust the source. As search behavior moves toward AI-generated answers, AEO becomes a core visibility discipline.