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Definition

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization

The practice of optimizing your brand's visibility in AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. AEO focuses on getting your brand recommended when AI answers questions relevant to your business.

What is AEO?

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of getting your brand recommended by AI platforms when users ask relevant questions. Unlike SEO, which optimizes web pages for search rankings, AEO optimizes your brand's entire digital presence so AI models understand, trust, and recommend you.

How AEO differs from SEO

SEO optimizes pages for search engine algorithms. AEO optimizes brands for AI recommendation systems. The competition format is different (10 search spots vs 2-4 AI recommendations), the signals are different (keywords and backlinks vs authority and sentiment), and the measurement is different (rankings vs mention rate and position).

How it works

AEO improves the signals AI models weigh when deciding what to recommend: brand authority across reputable sources, sentiment in reviews and media, content that AI can cite cleanly, and messaging that matches how customers phrase their questions.

Related terms

GEO is a subset of AEO focused specifically on generative AI models. SEO for AI describes the broader evolution of search optimization to include AI platforms.

Related Terms

AI SearchAI VisibilityAnswer EngineGEOSEO for AI

Deep Dive Guides

SEO for AI: What's Changed and What Hasn't

Traditional SEO isn't dead, but AI has changed the game. Here's what still works, what doesn't, and how to optimize for both Google and AI platforms.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): How to Optimize for LLMs

GEO focuses on how large language models like GPT, Claude, and Gemini decide what to recommend. Here's what's different about optimizing for generative AI specifically.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): What It Is and How It Works

AEO is the practice of getting your brand recommended by AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Here's how AI decides what to recommend and what you can do about it.

AI Visibility: What It Is and Why It's Not the Same as SEO

AI visibility measures whether AI platforms recommend your brand. It works differently from search rankings - here's what actually matters and how to track it.

Browse More Terms

AI Brand MonitoringAI CitationsAI MentionsAI OverviewsAI RecommendationsAI SearchAI Search OptimizationAI SentimentAI Share of VoiceAI VisibilityAI Visibility ScoreAnswer Engine

AI Is Already Talking About You. Shouldn’t You Know What It’s Saying?