AI answers
What is AEO?
AEO is answer engine optimization: the name of the job of writing public sentences an answer engine can cite. ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, and similar tools lift those sentences when someone asks a question. AEO is not a product you buy, not a secret feed, and not a ranking trick. Local SEO is still maps and Google. How you show up when people ask AI who to call lives on a different page. This one is the definition.
What is AEO?
AEO is answer engine optimization: the name of the job of writing public sentences an answer engine can cite. People shortened it because the long version is a mouthful. It is a name for that work, not a campaign.
The object is the sentence. The engine is ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, or whatever chat box a neighbor opens next. The work is making that sentence public, true, and easy to quote. Some people call the same public-facts job GEO, generative engine optimization.
This page stays on the name. How you show up when people ask AI who to call is the action. Local SEO is still maps and Google.
How is AEO different from SEO?
AEO is different from SEO because SEO is the work of ranking a page for a search, and AEO is the name of writing a sentence a model can cite. Ranking is a page in a list. Citing is a sentence in a chat.
A search engine still shows links and a map. An answer engine tries to speak. They share who you are, where you are, who you serve. They are not the same door.
A national blog can rank for a topic and never send a diner to your counter. A citable line on your Google Business Profile can get you named in a chat without winning that blog query. Different jobs.
Local SEO is still the maps-and-Google work. Do not buy a new stack because someone renamed the facts.
What does an answer engine actually cite?
An answer engine cites a public sentence it can lift: a checkable fact, with a place attached, written in text a crawler can read. It does not guess from a logo. It quotes.
A photo of a flyer is not a citation. Neither is a slogan, or a heading that never answers itself.
"Breakfast diner on Main in [town]. Eggs and coffee from 6. Closed Monday." That is citable. "We deliver unforgettable mornings" is not.
If the site and the listing disagree, the model may skip the mess and name a cleaner shop. The cite is the sentence, not a vibe.
Is AEO a new product you buy?
AEO is not a new product you buy. It is not a plug-in. It is not a feed you pay to enter.
You cannot buy an honest guaranteed mention in ChatGPT. Paid ads still exist in Google. Answer engines mostly quote pages they can already see.
A guaranteed ChatGPT mention is a story, not inventory. Spend the afternoon on a true listing and a sentence a stranger could check. We will not sell AEO as a ranking trick.
What should a shop put in public sentences?
A shop should put checkable facts in public sentences: who you are, where you are, who you serve, in words a neighbor would use. Not a slogan. Not a photo of a flyer.
Write a full line, in HTML, not in a picture. Hours and how a first visit works belong in that same plain voice. A slogan is not a sentence a model can stand behind.
A crew that writes "Residential heat pumps in [town]. Weekday same-day calls. The phone on the truck matches Google" gave the model something to lift. "Quality you can trust" did not.
How you place that line on the site and the listing is how you show up when people ask AI who to call. This page is what the sentence is.
What should you check on Monday?
On Monday, read the first sentence on your homepage and the first line of your Google Business Profile. Ask whether a model could cite that line as a fact. That is the check.
If it is a slogan, rewrite it as who, where, and who you serve. Check that the two places match. Then look at hours.
Do not buy a dashboard because you heard the word AEO. Jobs still beat a screenshot of a chat.
Who we are is on About. We will not sell AEO as a feed you pay to enter.
Questions people ask
What is AEO?
AEO is answer engine optimization: the name of the job of writing public sentences an answer engine can cite. ChatGPT and similar tools lift those sentences when a person asks a question. It is not a product you buy, not a secret feed, and not a ranking trick. Local SEO is still maps and Google. How you show up when someone asks AI who to call is a different page. This URL is the definition of the term.
How is AEO different from SEO?
AEO is different from SEO because SEO is the work of ranking a page for a search, and AEO is the name of writing a sentence a model can cite. A search engine still shows links and a map. An answer engine tries to speak the answer in the chat. They share who you are, where you are, and who you serve. They are not the same door. Local SEO stays the maps-and-Google job. This page names AEO.
What does an answer engine actually cite?
An answer engine cites a public sentence it can lift and stand behind: a checkable fact about who you are, where you are, and who you serve. The sentence has to live in text a crawler can read, not in a photo of a flyer. A slogan is not a citation. A heading that never answers itself is not a citation. If two public pages disagree, the model may name nobody. The cite is the sentence, not a campaign.
Is AEO a new product you buy?
No, AEO is not a new product you buy. It is not a plug-in or a feed you pay to enter. You cannot buy an honest guaranteed mention in ChatGPT. Paid ads still exist in Google. Answer engines mostly quote pages, listings, and reviews they can already see. Spend the afternoon on a true listing and a sentence a stranger could check. A guaranteed ChatGPT mention is a story, not inventory. We will not sell that story.
What should a shop put in public sentences?
A shop should put checkable facts in public sentences: who you are, where you are, who you serve, in words a neighbor would use. Write a full line a model can quote, not a slogan and not a photo of a flyer. A diner that serves breakfast on Main, open at six, closed Monday, is a sentence. "We deliver excellence" is not. How you place that line on the site and the listing is a how-to, not this definition. This URL is what the sentence is.
What should you check on Monday?
On Monday, read the first sentence on your homepage and the first line of your Google Business Profile. Ask whether a model could cite that line as a fact about the shop. If it is a slogan, rewrite it as who you are, where you are, and who you serve. Check that the two places match. Then look at hours. Do not buy a ranking dashboard because you heard the word AEO. Jobs still beat a screenshot of a chat.