Question 1

What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?

Accepted Answer

Answer engine optimisation is the work of making your content the answer that AI tools give when someone asks a question. The aim is for your business to be named, and cited with a link, in ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot and voice assistants. In practice it means direct answers, clear structure, structured data and mentions on sites the engines trust.

Question 2

What counts as an answer engine?

Accepted Answer

Any service that replies with a finished answer rather than a list of links. That includes ChatGPT with search, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, and voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa. Google's featured snippets, the answer box above the results, were the first widely used example.

Question 3

Is AEO spelt optimisation or optimization?

Accepted Answer

Both are used. Answer engine optimization with a z is the American spelling and the one most tools and articles use, so it's what many UK people type into Google too. Answer engine optimisation is the British spelling. They mean exactly the same thing, and search engines and AI tools treat them as equivalent.

Question 4

Is this the same as HMRC's AEO status?

Accepted Answer

No. In customs, AEO stands for Authorised Economic Operator, a status HMRC grants to businesses in the international supply chain that meet certain security and compliance standards. Answer engine optimisation has nothing to do with customs: it's about how your business appears in AI search tools and answer engines. Same letters, completely different field.

Question 5

How is AEO different from SEO?

Accepted Answer

SEO aims to rank your pages high among the links in Google's results. AEO aims to make your business the answer an AI tool gives, with your name and a link as the source. They share foundations, such as a crawlable site and useful content, but AEO puts more weight on direct answers, clear structure and confirmation from other sites.

Question 6

Does AEO replace SEO?

Accepted Answer

No. Many answer engines find their sources through search indexes, so pages that rank well in Google are easier to cite. Google itself says there are no extra requirements for its AI features beyond normal SEO best practice. AEO builds on SEO and refines how content is written and structured, rather than starting from scratch.

Question 7

What's the difference between AEO and GEO?

Accepted Answer

They overlap heavily. AEO grew out of featured snippets and voice search and focuses on becoming the cited answer to specific questions. GEO, generative engine optimisation, comes from research on AI-generated answers and often covers how AI describes and recommends a brand overall. In practice the methods are almost identical, and most agencies use the terms interchangeably.

Question 8

Which platforms does AEO cover?

Accepted Answer

The main ones are ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini and Claude, plus voice assistants and Google's featured snippets. In the UK, Google is the priority for most businesses: it handles around 91% of searches according to StatCounter, so AI Overviews reach the largest audience.

Question 9

How do answer engines choose which sources to cite?

Accepted Answer

Nobody outside the AI companies knows exactly, and it varies by service. The patterns that recur are clear: sources that answer the question directly, are easy for machines to parse, look credible, are up to date and are confirmed by other sites. Ahrefs found brand mentions across the web correlate far more strongly with AI Overview visibility than backlinks.

Question 10

Why does AEO matter now?

Accepted Answer

Because more searches end with an AI answer rather than a click. Google has shown AI Overviews in the UK since August 2024 and launched AI Mode in July 2025, and many buyers now ask ChatGPT or Copilot for shortlists. The businesses named in those answers win the trust; the rest don't appear at all at that moment.

Question 11

What does AEO mean in marketing?

Accepted Answer

In marketing, AEO means answer engine optimisation: getting your business named as the answer when customers ask AI tools and answer engines. It sits within search marketing alongside SEO and paid search, and it overlaps with content marketing and digital PR, since much of the work involves publishing clear answers and earning mentions.

Question 12

Which sectors benefit most from AEO?

Accepted Answer

Sectors where buyers ask lots of questions before deciding: professional services such as solicitors and accountants, trades, private healthcare, education, B2B software and e-commerce with products that need comparing. Local services gain too, because AI tools are increasingly asked for recommendations in a specific town or city, where fewer businesses have strong answers.

Question 13

Does AEO work differently for B2B and B2C?

Accepted Answer

The foundations are the same. B2B questions tend to be about comparisons, integrations, pricing models and compliance, so detailed comparison pages and clear documentation matter. B2C questions lean towards location, reviews, price and quick everyday answers, so Google Business Profile, review sites and short direct answers carry more weight.

Question 14

What goes into an AEO strategy?

Accepted Answer

An AEO strategy sets out which customer questions you want to be the answer to, which pages should answer each one, how that content is structured and where you need mentions from other sites. It also defines how you'll measure progress: usually a fixed set of questions put to the main AI tools every month, with results tracked over time.

Question 15

Is there a simple AEO checklist?

Accepted Answer

A short version: answer the question in the first two or three sentences, cover one question per section, use clear headings, add structured data, keep your facts identical everywhere, name the experts behind the content, show when it was last updated and make sure AI crawlers can read the page without JavaScript. Then measure.

Question 16

Do expertise and authorship matter for AEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a lot. Content with a named author, relevant credentials and cited sources is easier to trust, for people and for AI tools deciding what to quote. For regulated sectors such as finance, law or health, showing who wrote or reviewed the content, and their qualifications, is one of the clearest signals you can give.

Question 17

What are entities and why do they matter for AEO?

Accepted Answer

An entity is something that can be identified unambiguously, such as your company, a product or a person. When AI tools can tell exactly which entity you are, and connect your website, Companies House record, Google Business Profile and LinkedIn page, it becomes easier to name you correctly and in the right context.

Question 18

Do Wikipedia and Wikidata help with AEO?

Accepted Answer

They're important sources for many AI tools, but only organisations that meet Wikipedia's notability rules can have an article, and writing your own is discouraged. For most businesses, trade associations, industry directories, review sites and press coverage do more. Wikidata entries can help AI connect facts about you, if you qualify.

Question 19

How often should AEO content be updated?

Accepted Answer

Facts such as prices, opening hours, service areas and offers should always be current, because an AI tool may quote them directly. Guides and answer pages are worth reviewing a few times a year, or whenever rules or prices change. Showing a clear 'last updated' date helps both readers and AI tools judge freshness.

Question 20

Can images and video help AEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes, indirectly. Images with descriptive alt text and videos with a transcript or text summary make your content easier to understand and can be used in answers, especially for how-to questions. AI tools work mainly with text, so the written version is what usually gets quoted; the media supports it.

Question 21

What is answer-ready content?

Accepted Answer

Content where the answer to a specific question comes first, in two or three plain sentences, followed by the detail: what affects it, examples, figures and sources. It works for people skimming on a phone and for AI tools looking for a passage to quote, which is why it's the core of AEO.

Question 22

How long should an answer be?

Accepted Answer

A good pattern is a short answer of 40 to 60 words directly below the question, then more depth for readers who want it. The short answer is what AI tools and featured snippets most often quote, so make it complete on its own: it should still make sense if it's the only part someone reads.

Question 23

Does structured data help answer engine optimisation?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Structured data, or schema markup, is code that describes your content for machines: who the business is, what you offer, prices, reviews and which questions a page answers. It doesn't guarantee a citation, but it makes your content easier to interpret correctly and match to the right question, which supports everything else in AEO.

Question 24

Which schema types matter most for AEO?

Accepted Answer

Usually Organization or LocalBusiness for the company, Service or Product for what you sell, FAQPage for questions and answers, Article for guides and Person for named authors. Review and Offer markup help where they apply. Which ones fit depends on your site, and the markup must match what's visible on the page.

Question 25

Do we need a separate FAQ page?

Accepted Answer

A single catch-all FAQ page rarely does much on its own. Questions and answers work better on the pages they relate to, such as pricing questions on the service page and delivery questions on the product page. That puts the answer in context, which helps both visitors and AI tools match it to the right query.

Question 26

Should we let AI crawlers access our site?

Accepted Answer

If you want to be cited, yes. OpenAI, for example, uses OAI-SearchBot for search answers and GPTBot for training data, and you can allow one while blocking the other in robots.txt. We review which crawlers you allow and check whether important content only loads with JavaScript, which some AI crawlers can't run.

Question 27

Do site speed and technical health matter for AEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A fast site with clean HTML, clear headings and content that shows without JavaScript is easier for Google and AI tools to crawl and trust. Google's Core Web Vitals give useful targets: LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 ms and CLS under 0.1. HTTP Archive found only 48% of sites pass on mobile.

Question 28

How do featured snippets relate to AEO?

Accepted Answer

Featured snippets are the answer boxes Google shows above the regular results, quoting a short passage from one page. AEO began as the work of winning them. The same writing approach, a direct answer straight after the question, now helps pages get picked up by AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity as well.

Question 29

Does AEO help with voice search?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Voice assistants read out a single answer, so short, complete answers to specific questions matter even more. Local details matter too, since many voice searches are about nearby businesses: keep your name, address, phone number and opening hours identical on your site, Google Business Profile and directories.

Question 30

Do we need new content, or is rewriting enough?

Accepted Answer

Rewriting existing pages so the answer comes first often goes a long way, and it's usually the quickest win. New content is needed where customers ask questions you have no page for, such as pricing, comparisons with alternatives or how a process works. The question map shows which gaps are worth filling first.

Question 31

Which metrics do you use to measure AEO?

Accepted Answer

The share of tracked questions where you're named, how often you're cited with a link, whether the facts about you are correct and which competitors appear alongside you. We add traffic and enquiries from AI services in Google Analytics, and branded search in Search Console, so the reporting connects visibility to business results.

Question 32

How long does AEO take to show results?

Accepted Answer

Changes to your site can show within a few weeks in tools that search the web live, such as Perplexity, ChatGPT search and AI Overviews, once pages are recrawled. Mentions and trust build over several months, and what models learned in training updates less often. Expect a clear trend after three to six months.

Question 33

Will AEO mean fewer clicks to our website?

Accepted Answer

Some questions get answered without a click whether you're in the answer or not; that's happening anyway. AEO makes sure it's your name in the answer. The people who do click through have usually compared options already, so they tend to convert better, and many search for your brand later instead of clicking straight away.

Question 34

How do we know which questions we appear for?

Accepted Answer

We put a fixed set of questions to the main AI tools every month, several times each because answers vary, and save the responses. You see the trend question by question and service by service: where you're named, where you're cited, where a competitor appears instead and where the facts about you are wrong.

Question 35

Can AEO fix wrong information AI gives about us?

Accepted Answer

Often, over time. AI tools repeat outdated or incorrect details when a source online is wrong. We trace errors back to the page, directory or profile they come from, correct them there and publish the right facts clearly on your own site. Answers that search the web live change fastest; older model knowledge takes longer.

Question 36

Is AEO worth it for a small business?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes, especially locally and in niches where few competitors have clear answers to customers' questions. A small firm with a well-structured site, an accurate Google Business Profile and genuine reviews can be named ahead of larger competitors. The scope can start small: a handful of questions and a few improved pages.

Question 37

How does AEO affect enquiries?

Accepted Answer

The business named in an AI answer tends to get visitors who have already compared options with AI and arrive ready to talk. That's why we track enquiries and sales from AI referrals, not just traffic, and look at branded search, since many people search your name after seeing it in an answer.

Question 38

Which tools do you use for AEO?

Accepted Answer

Google Search Console and Google Analytics for search performance and AI referral traffic, Google Tag Manager and Looker Studio for tracking and reports, schema testing tools for structured data, and our own recurring question sets put to ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot to record who gets named.

Question 39

How much does answer engine optimisation cost?

Accepted Answer

It depends on how many questions and pages the work covers, how competitive your sector is and how much content needs writing. After a free AEO review you get a clear proposal, usually a fixed monthly fee in pounds with no long lock-in, so you know the cost upfront and can judge it against results.

Question 40

Can we do AEO in-house?

Accepted Answer

Parts of it, yes. Rewriting pages so the answer comes first and keeping your facts consistent are things a capable marketing team can do. What we add is the analysis of what AI says today, prioritisation, structured data, technical checks, earning mentions and consistent monthly measurement. You can also split the work with us.

Question 41

How do we get started with AEO?

Accepted Answer

Book a free AEO review. We put your customers' most important questions to ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity, show you who's named today and explain what it would take for it to be you. If you'd rather start on your own, try the free AI check first.

Question 42

Is AEO a good fit for B2B companies?

Accepted Answer

Very much so. B2B buyers increasingly use AI to build supplier shortlists and compare options before they contact anyone, so being named in that comparison gives you a head start. Detailed pages on pricing models, integrations, security and how you compare with alternatives tend to be what AI tools quote.

Question 43

How does AEO fit into AI visibility?

Accepted Answer

AI visibility is the whole picture: how often and how accurately you appear across AI services. AEO is the part focused on shaping content so you become the answer and get cited as a source. Alongside it sit work on entities, mentions and measurement, which together make up our AI visibility service.

Question 44

Can AEO be combined with local SEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and for local businesses they go hand in hand. AI tools lean heavily on Google Business Profiles and reviews when recommending nearby businesses, and Google states that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Consistent details and genuine reviews strengthen both. Remember that fake reviews are illegal in the UK under the DMCC Act.

Question 45

When is it worth getting help with AEO?

Accepted Answer

When competitors are already named in AI answers and you aren't, when customers ask the same questions again and again before buying, when AI says something wrong about you, or when nobody in-house has time to track what AI services say. A free review shows whether there's enough to gain.

	SEO	AEO
The goal	Rank high in the list of links	Become the answer AI gives
Where it shows	Google's search results	ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot
What counts most	Keywords, links, technical health	Direct answers, structure, credible sources
How it's measured	Rankings, clicks, traffic	Mentions, citations, accurate facts

Answer engine optimisation that makes you the answer

Answer engines look for sources. We make you one of them.

What is answer engine optimisation?

Your customers are already asking. The question is who AI names.

Our answer engine optimisation: answers AI cites

Question map

Answer-ready content

The tools we use for AEO

Answer engines we track

Measurement

Platforms

AEO puts you where decisions are made, before the click

How our answer engine optimisation works

AEO review

Question map & plan

Content & structure

Tracking

Everything it takes to become the answer

For businesses that want to be the answer when buyers ask AI

Service firms and agencies

B2B and SaaS

E-commerce and brands

Does AI name you when customers ask?

More on SEO and AI search

How AI chooses which companies to recommend

How to appear in ChatGPT: 7 reasons you are not mentioned, and what to do

How long does SEO take? Realistic timelines, and is SEO worth it?

What is hreflang? How to show Google the right language version

What we do beyond AEO

AI visibility

Ready to grow?

Structure and structured data

Mentions and credibility

Monthly tracking

Answer engine optimisation (AEO): FAQ