What is AEO? A Guide to Answer Engine Optimization
What AEO Is and Why It Matters Now
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It's the practice of making sure your brand and products appear in the answers generated by AI assistants — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and whatever comes next.
The shift happening right now is significant. A growing segment of consumers, especially for considered purchases, are skipping Google entirely and going straight to an AI assistant. They ask in natural language: "What's a good moisturizer for dry skin?" The AI gives them one answer — not ten links. It picks a handful of brands, explains why, and the conversation moves on.
If your brand isn't included in that answer, you don't get a lower position. You get nothing. The customer doesn't know you exist.
The key distinction
Search engines show options and let the user choose. AI answer engines make the choice for the user. That's a fundamental shift in how discovery works — and it means being present in AI answers is now a meaningful competitive advantage.
How AEO Differs from Traditional SEO
SEO is about ranking. You optimize pages so they appear high in search results when someone types a query. AEO is different. AI engines don't rank pages — they synthesize information from training data and real-time sources to construct a response. The brands in that response aren't there because they won a ranking algorithm — they're there because the AI has encountered enough credible mentions of them in the right context.
SEO vs AEO at a glance
- SEO optimizes for ranked link positions — AEO optimizes for inclusion in synthesized answers
- SEO measures clicks and rankings — AEO measures brand mentions and recommendation frequency
- SEO rewards technical page factors — AEO rewards source credibility and content authority
- In SEO, the user picks from options — in AEO, the AI picks for the user
This doesn't mean SEO is obsolete. Many AI engines use real-time web search, so strong SEO still contributes to AEO. But SEO alone is no longer sufficient.
Why AEO Matters More for Cross-Border E-commerce
For brands selling internationally — especially brands from one country trying to build recognition in another — the stakes are higher. A US shopper asks ChatGPT: "What are the best Korean sunscreens?" The AI names three to five brands. The brands not mentioned don't get a second chance in that conversation.
Cross-border sellers face an additional challenge: AI models are trained predominantly on content from the target market. A Korean brand that hasn't built a presence in English-language media and review platforms will have less representation in the training data that shapes US-market AI answers.
Market-specific considerations
- United States: ChatGPT and Perplexity are heavily used for product discovery
- Japan: AI search adoption is accelerating; bilingual content and local platform presence help
- Europe: Multilingual market — AEO coverage needed in English, German, French separately
The Core Pillars of AEO
AEO isn't a single tactic. It's the intersection of three areas that together determine whether your brand appears in AI-generated answers.
1. Source Authority
AI engines weight authoritative sources. Press coverage, reviews on established platforms (Amazon, Sephora, Trustpilot), and editorial content all contribute as signals the AI can observe across sources.
2. Content Relevance
The language your brand uses needs to match the language AI uses when constructing answers. If shoppers ask "best sunscreen for sensitive skin under $30," your content should address that framing directly.
3. Technical Readiness
AI crawlers need to access and interpret your site's content:
- llms.txt: A file that tells AI agents what your site is about and which pages matter
- JSON-LD structured data: Schema markup for products, reviews, pricing, and brand identity
- robots.txt: Configured to allow legitimate AI crawlers
Getting Started with AEO
The first step isn't optimization — it's understanding where you currently stand. Before you can improve your AI visibility, you need to know what it actually looks like today.
- Monitor AI mentions: Track whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity mention your brand
- Identify your competitors in AI answers: Find out which brands are recommended instead of yours
- Audit your content: Compare the language in your content to the language AI uses in relevant answers
- Check your technical setup: Verify llms.txt, structured data, and robots.txt
- Build third-party coverage: Earn mentions in credible, independent sources in your target markets
Think in months, not days
AEO results compound over time. AI models update their knowledge as they encounter more data about your brand. The brands that start building their AI presence now have a real advantage — establishing credible, cross-source mentions takes time to build.
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