AEO: The SEO You’re Probably Missing

How to Optimize Your Site for AI Search in Under 48 Hours

If you’ve been playing the SEO game for a while, buckle up—because there’s a new player in town, and it thinks in tokens, not keywords.

It’s called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). And if your website isn’t ready for it, you’re about to disappear from the places people are actually searching.

We’re talking about:

• 🔍 Google’s AI Overviews

• 💬 ChatGPT with browsing

• 📚 Perplexity.ai and other LLM tools

These engines don’t just search — they answer. And they pull from clean, structured, clear content.

What Is AEO, and Why Should You Care?

AEO is about becoming the source AI tools cite when someone asks a question in your space.

• SEO = show up in results

• AEO = be the actual answer

With tools like ChatGPT getting over 1 billion queries per day, and 90% of Google searches now showing AI-generated summaries, this isn’t the future. It’s already here.

🚀 Your AEO in 48 Hours Game Plan

Let’s break this down into a simple, repeatable checklist.

AEO Checklist: Optimize Your Site for AI Answers

🔍 1. Identify Key Questions

• List the top 5–10 questions your ideal customer would ask AI about your industry, product, or service
  
  
• Use Perplexity, Google “People Also Ask”, and ChatGPT to find real phrasing
  
  
• Prioritize intent-rich questions (e.g., "How do I choose the right [X]?" or "What’s the best tool for [Y]?")
  
  

✍️ 2. Create Clear, Direct Answers

• Create a dedicated page or section for each question
  
  
• Use the question as the H1/H2
  
  
• Give a concise 1–2 sentence answer at the top
  
  
• Expand with bullets, short paras, and helpful context
  
  
• Add a summary or TL;DR at the bottom for extra clarity
  
  

📐 3. Add Structured Data (Schema)

• Use FAQ schema for Q&A pages or HowTo schema for step-by-step content
  
  
• Format using JSON-LD (Google Structured Data Helper or RankMath plugin if using WordPress)
  
  
• Validate your schema with Google’s Rich Results Test
  
  
• Submit your site to llms-txt.site to get indexed by LLM crawlers (optional but helpful)
  
  

🌐 4. Ensure Fast, Accessible Crawlability

• Ensure all answer pages are linked internally and in the sitemap
  
  
• Submit updated sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
  
  
• Use IndexNow (via plugin or direct API call) to notify Bing of new content
  
  
• Check robots.txt isn’t blocking important paths
  
  
• Avoid heavy JavaScript or login-gated content
  
  

🧠 5. Format for LLM Readability

• Use short paragraphs, bullets, and headings
  
  
• Keep answers at the top of the page — no burying
  
  
• Test readability by pasting into a plain-text editor (or ask ChatGPT to summarize it — does it get it right?)
  
  
• Make sure each section/question can stand alone as a snippet
  
  

🔁 6. Test + Improve

• Ask your questions in Perplexity.ai — see if it cites your content
  
  
• Run your site through:
  
  
• Profound (AI mentions dashboard)
  
  
• Goodie AI (AI optimization check)
  
  
• HubSpot AI Search Grader
  
  
• If not showing up, tighten your answer and re-submit sitemap
  
  
• Watch for indirect signs: branded search increases, more direct traffic, AI citations
  
  

🧰 Tool Stack Reference

• ✅ Profound (LLM mention tracking)
  
  
• ✅ Goodie AI (AEO scoring + alerts)
  
  
• ✅ Google Structured Data Helper
  
  
• ✅ llms-txt.site (get into AI indexes)
  
  
• ✅ IndexNow (via Bing/Webmaster plugin)