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Answer engine optimization

Answer engine optimization services.

Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of answering your buyers’ questions clearly enough that Google and AI assistants can use the answer.

Book an AI search consult →How it works

What it is

One program, two names.

AEO and GEO are overlapping labels for one job: answer the buyer’s question, show the evidence and track where your business is named.

We run it as one program. Scope, term and measurement are on our generative engine optimization page; this page covers the answer work inside it.

How we do it

Answer the question buyers ask.

Questions

Find the real questions

We collect the questions buyers type into Google and put to AI assistants, from Search Console, sales calls and a fixed prompt list.

Answer

Answer in the first lines

Each page answers its question at the top, with the number or the name, then gives the detail a buyer needs to trust it.

Evidence

Show the evidence

Claims link to a primary source and carry a date, so a buyer or an editor can check the answer before repeating it.

Facts

Keep the facts consistent

Your name, services and proof read the same on your site and public profiles, so an answer about you starts from correct facts.

Access

Let the crawlers in

We check that search and AI crawlers can fetch and read your pages. Google says its AI features need no special schema or AI text file.

Measure

Record what the engines say

We rerun the same buyer prompts on a schedule and log each mention and citation with its date, engine and settings.

Compare the labels

AEO, GEO or SEO: compare the work.

The labels overlap, and no standard separates them. Compare the deliverables in each proposal before the name on its cover.

SEO

Search engine optimization

Covers visibility in search, including Google’s AI search features. Answer work starts here, with pages a crawler can read and content that matches the question.

AEO

Answer engine optimization

The same work seen from the question: which answer a buyer receives, and whether your business is the source it names.

GEO

Generative engine optimization

Our name for the full program: answers, original evidence, earned mentions and a repeated sample of what AI assistants say.

Coverage

Where buyers get answers.

We sample ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode with the same prompts each run.

ChatGPTClaudePerplexityGeminiGoogle AI Mode

Questions

AEO, answered.

What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of answering buyer questions so search and AI systems can use the answer. It covers which questions you target, how directly each page answers them, and whether your business is named as the source.
What do AEO services include?
Our AEO work covers question research, answer-first pages, source links, consistent business facts, crawler access and a repeated prompt panel. It is delivered inside our GEO program, and the proposal names the pages and engines included. No single tactic guarantees a citation.
Is AEO different from GEO?
Not in any standard way. AEO and GEO are overlapping industry labels, and no standard defines where one ends. We run one program and report search appearances, AI mentions, links and enquiries as separate measures.
How is AEO different from SEO?
AEO builds on SEO. Both need accessible pages, relevant content and credible evidence. SEO reporting tracks impressions, rankings and visits, and AEO adds a dated sample of the answers buyers receive and the sources those answers name.
Which answer engines do you cover?
We sample five: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode. The prompt list, engines and settings are agreed at the start and recorded with every run, so one month can be compared with the next.
Does schema or an llms.txt file get my business cited?
No tactic guarantees a citation. Google says its AI features need no special schema or AI text file. We keep markup accurate and matched to the visible page, then spend the effort on answers, evidence and access.
How do you measure AEO results?
We rerun an agreed list of buyer prompts and record each mention and citation with its date, engine and settings. Crawl access, indexing, AI citations, visits and enquiries are separate outcomes, and the report keeps them separate.
Who is AEO for?
Companies whose buyers research suppliers through Google and AI assistants. Start with evidence that your buyers ask questions there, then fix the answers and access gaps that affect those decisions.

Go deeper

The rest of the program.

Generative engine optimization services

The full program this work sits inside: scope, initial term and measurement across five engines.

AEO, defined

The short definition, with an example of an answer-first page.

Search engine optimization

SEO that starts with the questions your buyers ask.

Our own AI SEO case study

Late 2025, previous site: ChatGPT sessions 38 to 474 and 117 Semrush citations as of 2025-12-09.

Free GEO visibility checker

A 90-second self-assessment of your AI search foundations, before you book a consult.

Related reading

AEO vs GEO vs SEO: What's the Difference in 2026?

Understand where AEO, GEO and SEO overlap, compare the work behind agency proposals, and choose the visibility measures that match your business.

Read →

AI SEO Services: Adding a Second Retainer Without Overlap

Compare AI SEO services with your existing agency. Check deliverables, vendor evidence, USD pricing and contract terms before adding a second retainer.

Read →

How Generative Engine Optimization Actually Works

How AI search finds and cites information, what site owners can verify, and how to diagnose an inaccurate answer without inventing a ranking formula.

Read →

Talk to the AI search team

Share your website or app URL. We reply within 24 hours with a suggested starting point and what we need to scope the work.

Teegan Johnson, Founder & Chief Growth Officer, will follow up by email about your request. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy

Prefer to talk first? Book a 30-minute call instead.

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Where this fits: see the Strataigize Growth System, the ladder every engagement runs on.

Bring one question your buyers ask.

Bring it to a free 30-minute founder consult. We review it live and rank the next changes with you.

Book an AI search consult →

Want a self-assessment first? Try the free GEO visibility checker.

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