What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Also called: AEO
Definition
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so that answer engines can quote it directly as the answer to a question. The term predates modern AI chat and originally covered featured snippets and voice assistants; today it is used almost interchangeably with GEO.
Explained
AEO focuses on the shape of the content: a question as the heading, a direct one-to-two-sentence answer straight after it, then supporting detail. That structure helps any system that extracts answers, from Google's featured snippets to a large language model summarizing a page.
In practice, AEO and GEO overlap almost completely. If there is a difference, AEO leans towards on-page formatting, while GEO also covers off-site work such as reviews, listicles and community mentions that shape whether an AI recommends a brand.
Example
A payroll provider rewrites its FAQ so each question is a heading and each answer starts with a direct sentence, such as "Payroll for a 10-person company usually takes under an hour a month with automated tax filing." The page becomes easier for both Google snippets and AI engines to quote.