What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Answer Engine Optimization is the strategic process of optimizing your brand to appear in AI-generated responses from ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Learn what AEO is and why it matters.
Chris Poka
Founder
The way people discover products and services is fundamentally changing. With over 1.5 billion monthly queries on ChatGPT alone, and platforms like Perplexity and Claude growing rapidly, AI search engines are becoming the primary way consumers find and evaluate brands.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the strategic process of optimizing your brand's digital presence to appear in AI-generated responses. Unlike traditional SEO which focuses on ranking in search results, AEO focuses on being cited and recommended when users ask AI assistants questions about products, services, or solutions in your category.
Why AEO Matters Now
When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best project management tool for remote teams?" or tells Claude "Recommend a CRM for my startup," AI systems analyze vast amounts of web data to formulate recommendations. AEO ensures your brand is among those recommendations.
- 1.5B+ monthly queries on ChatGPT alone
- 67% of B2B buyers now use AI assistants during their research phase
- 2.3x higher conversion from AI-referred traffic vs. organic search
According to Gartner's 2024 research, 67% of B2B buyers now use AI assistants during their research phase, and this number is projected to reach 85% by 2026. If your brand isn't being recommended, you're invisible to a growing segment of high-intent buyers.
How AI Search Differs from Traditional Search
Traditional search engines return a list of links. AI search engines return direct answers with specific brand recommendations. This fundamental shift means the strategies for visibility are different:
- Intent understanding: AI parses the full context of a query, not just keywords
- Recommendation format: Instead of 10 blue links, users get 3-5 specific recommendations with reasoning
- Trust signals: AI weighs authority, freshness, structured data, and cross-source consistency
Getting Started with AEO
The first step is understanding where you stand. Run a free AI visibility check to see how ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity talk about your brand today. From there, you can build a targeted strategy to improve your AI presence.
Ready to take action? See Elynn's plans for automated AI visibility tracking and optimization.