Answer-first content
Questions resolved in the first 40–55 words, in the exact phrasing people ask — the format AI lifts and quotes verbatim.
AEO & GEO — Answer Engine & Generative Engine Optimisation
Be the answer AI gives, not just a link it ignores
Search is shifting from ten blue links to one AI-generated answer. When someone asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity which business to use, only one name gets said out loud. AEO and GEO are the practice of making sure it's yours — a channel most agencies haven't started offering yet.
Quick answer
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is the practice of structuring content so a business is cited directly inside AI-generated answers — in tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity — instead of only appearing as a traditional blue-link result. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the closely related, broader discipline of being represented accurately across generative AI systems as a whole.
What's involved
What actually gets you cited
AI engines quote the clearest, most trustworthy, most quotable source for a question. Everything below is built to make that source you.
Entity clarity
Unambiguous signals about who you are, what you do and where — so engines can confidently attribute the answer to your brand.
Structured data
Schema that machines parse cleanly — Organization, Service, FAQ and more — so your content is legible to AI, not just to readers.
Corroboration
Being mentioned consistently by other credible sources (directories, press, reviews) — the third-party signal that makes AI systems trust your own claims enough to repeat them.
Topical depth
Genuine coverage of a subject, not thin pages — so you read as an authority the engine can lean on.
AI-visibility tracking
Monitoring how and where the engines mention you over time — so this becomes measurable, not mystical.
Why this matters now
The click is quietly disappearing
More searches now end with an answer, not a visit. If the answer names a competitor — or no one — you've lost the customer before they ever saw your site. First movers are being cited before the space gets crowded.
- People ask, AI answers
"Who's the best ___ for ___?" is now a conversation, and the AI picks who to name. - Experience beats volume
Real, specific expertise gets quoted; generic content gets ignored — which favours a focused team over a content farm. - First-mover advantage
The terminology and the space are young. Define it clearly now and you become the cited source.
SEO vs. AEO vs. GEO
SEO earns rankings in traditional search results; AEO optimises to be the cited answer inside AI engines; GEO is the broader craft of being represented well across generative AI. In practice, AEO and GEO overlap heavily and are done together.
Appearing in AI Overviews
To appear in Google AI Overviews, publish clear answer-first content, add structured data, establish entity clarity about who you are, and earn corroborating mentions — AI Overviews favour sources that are unambiguous, trustworthy and quotable.
Where you get seen
The engines we optimise you for
How we work
From invisible to quotable
1
Audit AI visibility
We test what the engines say about you and your category today — the baseline nobody else checks.
2
Clarify the entity
Structured data and consistent signals so AI knows exactly who you are and what you do.
3
Publish answers
Answer-first, genuinely expert content on the questions your buyers actually ask.
4
Corroborate & track
Build the trust signals, then monitor how the engines cite you over time.
Works well with
AEO/GEO is stronger alongside
AEO & GEO FAQ
Straight answers on AI search
AEO is the practice of optimising content so a business is cited directly inside AI-generated answers — in tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity — rather than only ranking as a traditional blue link.
GEO is the practice of making sure generative AI systems represent your business accurately wherever they describe it — not just citing you in one answer, but getting your services, location and positioning right across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews. It shares its foundations with AEO: unambiguous entity data, structured markup, and consistent corroboration from third-party sources.
SEO earns rankings in traditional search results. AEO optimises to be the cited answer inside AI engines. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the broader craft of being represented well across generative AI as a whole. In practice AEO and GEO overlap heavily and are done together.
Publish clear, answer-first content that directly resolves the question, mark it up with structured data, establish entity clarity about who you are, and earn corroborating mentions elsewhere. AI Overviews favour sources that are unambiguous, trustworthy and quotable.
No honest provider can guarantee a specific AI citation — the engines are probabilistic and change constantly. What we can do is maximise the probability using the signals these systems demonstrably reward, and track your visibility over time. Anyone promising a guaranteed citation is overselling.
Yes. AI answers increasingly resolve questions without a click, so appearing inside them protects visibility that traditional links are losing. The two disciplines share foundations, so adding AEO to existing SEO is efficient rather than duplicative.