What is AEO (answer engine optimisation)?
AEO, answer engine optimisation, is the practice of structuring your content so search engines and AI tools can lift a clear answer straight from your page. It is how you get featured snippets and AI citations, and it is an extension of good SEO, not a separate discipline.
A simple definition
Answer engine optimisation means writing and marking up your content so an engine, whether that is Google or an AI tool, can pull a direct, confident answer from it. Think of a 40 to 60 word paragraph that answers a real question cleanly, backed by structured data.
How AEO works
Three things do most of the heavy lifting: short answer blocks placed near the top of a page, FAQ and other structured data that spells out what the content means, and third-party validation, being mentioned and agreed with across trusted sites. Recency helps too; fresh, current pages get picked up more often.
Is AEO different from SEO?
It is an extension, not a replacement. The same foundations that rank you on Google, clear content, fast pages, structured data, authority, are what get you cited by AI. You should not need to buy a separate, pricey AEO product to do it.
Where to start
Take your most important pages and add a clean answer block near the top, wrap your FAQs in schema, and keep the facts current. That single habit wins featured snippets and makes your page easy for AI to quote.
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