Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring content so answer engines like Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, and ChatGPT can extract and cite it directly. Instead of ranking a page for clicks, AEO aims to have your content quoted inside a machine-generated answer, often by using clear question-and-answer formatting, concise factual statements, and structured data.
Why It Matters
A growing share of searches now end with an AI answer instead of a click to a website. If your content is not answer-shaped, engines pull from competitors and you lose visibility even when you technically rank well in traditional results.
Common Mistake
Treating AEO as a bolt-on rather than a content discipline. Teams add FAQ schema to vague, meandering copy and expect citations. Engines cite clear, self-contained answers, so the underlying writing has to be direct and factual first.