Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of getting your brand recommended by AI-powered platforms - ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Grok - when users ask questions relevant to your business.
The key distinction from SEO: AEO optimizes brands, not pages. You can have the best-optimized website in the world and still be invisible in AI recommendations if your overall brand presence is weak.
How AI actually decides what to recommend
AI doesn't have a simple ranking algorithm like Google. When someone asks "What's the best accounting software?", the AI weighs multiple signals to construct its answer:
Brand authority - How often and how prominently does your brand appear across reputable sources? Industry publications, review sites, analyst reports, and technical documentation all contribute. More high-quality mentions = stronger brand signal in the model.
Sentiment - AI doesn't just count mentions - it reads context. A brand with positive reviews on G2 and favorable press coverage gets recommended differently than one with a trail of complaints on Reddit.
Query-brand fit - The more specifically your positioning matches how people phrase their questions, the more likely you are to be recommended. If your marketing says "CRM for enterprise" but the user asks about "CRM for startups," you won't make the cut.
Freshness - Modern AI platforms use real-time web search alongside their training data. Current content, recent reviews, and fresh press coverage carry weight.
Citability - Content that makes clear, specific, data-backed claims gets cited more than vague marketing copy. AI prefers content it can extract clean answers from.
AEO vs SEO vs GEO - the short version
These terms describe different scopes of the same problem:
- SEO optimizes web pages for Google's ranking algorithm
- GEO optimizes specifically for generative AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
- AEO is the broadest term - it covers all AI-powered answer platforms, including Google AI Overviews
In practice, the strategies overlap heavily. The terminology reflects different communities arriving at the same challenge from different angles.
What an AEO strategy looks like
Step 1: Know where you stand. Run your key prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Grok. Are you mentioned? In what position? With what sentiment? AEOscope automates this daily.
Step 2: Identify your target prompts. Not all prompts are equal. Prioritize:
- High-intent: "Best [category] for [use case]"
- Comparison: "[Your brand] vs [competitor]"
- Problem-solution: "How do I [problem your product solves]?"
Step 3: Build the signals AI cares about. This is where AEO diverges from SEO. The highest-leverage activities:
- Earn reviews on platforms AI trusts (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot). Volume, recency, and detail matter.
- Get press coverage in publications with authority. Even a mention without a link influences AI.
- Create content worth citing - original data, specific benchmarks, clear frameworks. Not generic "10 tips" posts.
- Sharpen your positioning so AI can confidently categorize you.
Step 4: Monitor continuously. AI responses shift as models update. A competitor's PR campaign can change the landscape overnight. Weekly or daily monitoring catches shifts before they cost you customers.
Common mistakes
Assuming Google rankings = AI visibility. They don't correlate reliably. You can rank #1 on Google and be absent from ChatGPT.
Optimizing for one platform. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude often recommend different brands for the same query. Multi-platform tracking is essential.
Doing a one-time audit. AI responses change regularly. A monthly check isn't enough to stay competitive.
AEOscope tracks your brand's AI visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Grok - so you can optimize with real data.
