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What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is the practice of structuring content so answer engines can extract a clean, correct answer from it and cite it.

Diagram of an answer-first page for AEO: a heading phrased as the buyer's question, a direct 40 to 60 word answer highlighted beneath it, evidence and structured data below, and an AI assistant lifting that highlighted answer into its response with a citation of the page.
The AEO pattern: one section answers one question, the first sentence is the answer, and that is the sentence AI lifts and cites.

AEO overlaps heavily with GEO. It focuses on the on-page side: answer-first writing, self-contained sections, clear headings phrased as questions, and structured data.

The core AEO move is to put the direct answer in the first sentence of a page or section, because AI engines extract chunks rather than whole pages.

Discoverable audits pages for AEO readiness and generates content in an answer-first structure by default.

Related terms

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?What is a citation in AI answers?What is AI visibility?

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