Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

AEO emerged as a term around 2023–2024 in the wake of AI answer engines starting to replace traditional search results for a growing share of queries. Where SEO is about winning positions in a list, AEO is about becoming the single source the AI model cites in its answer.

The core of AEO is structuring content so that it is machine-readable, authoritative, and a direct answer to questions people actually ask. That involves structured data (schema.org), clear entity-building, FAQ format, and strong E-E-A-T signals.

AEO and SEO overlap significantly — strong SEO is a prerequisite for good AEO. But AEO additionally requires explicit optimization for conversational search formats and for the specific ways AI models evaluate credibility.