Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the systematic optimisation of websites and content so they can be discovered, understood and used as sources in search- and AI-powered answer systems.
What does AEO include?
AEO combines technical search optimisation with clear information architecture, unambiguous entities, direct answers, credible sources and a measurement framework for AI-answer systems. It is not a single setting and it does not replace SEO.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO improves discoverability in classic search results. AEO extends that foundation by asking whether content can be understood, summarised, cited or selected as a source in answer systems. Crawlability, quality, authority and clear content matter to both.
What can be measured?
Useful measures include defined prompt sets, mention rate, citation rate, share of voice and search-traffic trends. Individual AI answers are too variable to treat like a fixed keyword ranking.
What are the limits?
No provider can guarantee mentions or citations in ChatGPT, Google or other independent systems. Models, retrieval, personalisation and source data change. AEO improves the conditions and signals; it does not create control over third-party answer systems.
Official sources for further reading
Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content ↗