SEO
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
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The practice of optimizing content to be cited as a source in AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews and other answer engines.
Full definition
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), also called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or LLM Optimization, is the discipline of making content more likely to be cited as a source when LLMs answer user questions. AEO differs from traditional SEO: it prioritizes citation by AI rather than ranking in search results. Key techniques: direct answers in the first 30% of a page (44% of citations come from the top third per Princeton GEO research 2025), atomic facts (6-20 word sentences), FAQ schema markup, freshness signals, structured data, and explicit content signals like llms.txt files. The global AEO services market was valued at ~$1B in 2025 and is projected to hit $17B by 2034.
Examples
- ·Adding a 'TL;DR' atomic facts block in the first 200 words of an article to maximize LLM citation chances.
- ·Publishing an llms.txt file with a structured site summary for AI crawlers.
- ·Marking key sections as 'speakable' in JSON-LD to be cited by voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.