AEO — answer engine optimisation — is the discipline of engineering your content so AI assistants quote, cite, and recommend you. As buyers shift from search to AI assistants for research, AEO is becoming the most important visibility discipline in marketing.
Plain-English definition
Answer engine optimisation is what you do to be the source AI assistants quote when someone asks a question your business should answer. Where SEO ranks pages, AEO surfaces answers.
The mechanics overlap with SEO — structured content, entity engineering, earned citations, schema — but the optimisation target is different. SEO targets the results page. AEO targets the answer itself.
How AEO differs from SEO
SEO is a ranking discipline. The goal is to be high on the results page. AEO is a citation discipline. The goal is to be in the answer the model generates.
A page can rank #5 on Google and never be cited by ChatGPT. Another page can rank #15 and be cited by every major model. The structural choices that drive each are related but distinct.
Why it matters now
Google AI Overviews already absorb clicks for informational queries. ChatGPT and Perplexity are now primary research tools for B2B buyers. By 2027, the brands cited by AI assistants will be the default answer in their categories.
The work compounds. Brands that earn AEO authority now will be hard to displace later.
What to do this quarter
Audit your buyer intent map. Ship 4–6 answer-shaped pillar pages with FAQ schema. Earn citations from sources the models already trust. Stand up a fixed prompt panel and measure AI share-of-voice monthly. The basics produce results in 90 days.
Frequently asked questions
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimisation — engineering your content so AI assistants quote, cite, and recommend you when buyers ask questions.
How is it different from SEO?
SEO optimises for ranking on a results page. AEO optimises for being the answer itself. Different format, overlapping techniques.
Does SEO still matter?
Yes — Google still drives traffic. But AI-generated answers are taking share fast, and the businesses being cited today will own the next decade.
Where do I start?
Audit your buyer intent map, ship answer-shaped pillar pages with FAQ schema, earn authoritative citations, and measure AI share-of-voice monthly.