AEO recognises that a growing share of searches never reach a classic SERP. Users increasingly ask an assistant, get a synthesised answer, and only click through if the answer is unsatisfying. AEO optimises for being one of the sources the assistant chooses.
Core techniques
- Answer the question in the first paragraph, in one or two clear sentences.
- Structure content with descriptive H2 and H3 headings that mirror common phrasing.
- Add schema markup so the answer engine can identify entities.
- Publish llms.txt to signal permitted use to answer engines.
- Cite your own claims with authoritative sources.
Example
A finance blog rewrites its posts to lead with a one-sentence answer and adds FAQPage schema. Within a quarter, the same posts are cited by both Perplexity and ChatGPT for their target queries.
How SEM Optimiser reports it
The AEO scorecard evaluates each page on structure, schema, and quotability, and pairs the score with recommended rewrites.
Related terms
- AI Overview
An AI Overview is a generative summary shown at the top of a Google search results page, synthesised by Google's Gemini model from multiple ranking sources.
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
Generative Engine Optimisation is a broader discipline than AEO, covering how content, brand entity, and technical signals influence generation by large language models across all AI surfaces.
- llms.txt
llms.txt is a plain-text file at the root of a domain that lists the site's key content and signals to LLM-based crawlers how the content should be discovered and used.
- E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, the framework Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines use to assess the credibility of content.