Answer engine optimization (AEO)

Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring a website's content so that answer engines, systems that return a direct answer rather than a list of links, can find, understand, and quote it accurately. Examples of answer engines include search engine answer boxes, voice assistants, and AI assistants that browse.

How it differs from SEO and GEO

• SEO aims at ranking in a list of results.
• AEO aims at being the answer: content written as clear questions and answers, with structured data (such as FAQPage JSON-LD) that states the answer in machine-readable form.
• GEO aims at being cited by generative AI systems that synthesize answers from many sources.

Practices

• One clear answer per question, in plain language, near the top of the page.
• Structured data that repeats the answer verbatim.
• Machine-readable versions of the page (for example, a markdown representation served on content negotiation).
• Signals that permit AI systems to use the content for answers while stating the site's position on training.