The basics
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimisation is the practice of getting your business found, trusted and recommended inside AI search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot.
SEO is for Google. AEO is for AI.
When someone Googles "best dentist in Dublin", Google shows ten blue links. When someone asks ChatGPT the same question, it gives one answer. AEO is the work of making sure that one answer is your business.
AI search engines don't rank pages — they cite sources. They look at structured data, entity authority, FAQ schema, citations from trusted sites and how clearly your content answers a real question. Get those right, and you become the recommendation.
Why it matters now
ChatGPT alone handles over 1.5 billion visits per month
AI search queries grew 450% in the last 12 months
Click-throughs from traditional Google are down 35% YoY
AI traffic converts 2–3× better than SEO traffic
64% of under-35s now prefer AI over Google
82% of business websites are not optimised for AI
What AEO actually involves
- Structured data & schema markup — making your site machine-readable for AI crawlers.
- Answer-first content — rewriting key pages so AI can quote them cleanly.
- Entity & authority signals — building the trust markers AI engines use to pick a winner.
- FAQ & question targeting — owning the exact questions your buyers ask.
- Citation building — getting referenced on the sources AI engines actually trust.
- Monitoring & iteration — tracking your visibility across every major engine.
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