Glossary
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Answer engine optimization is the practice of structuring content so an answer engine can extract a single direct response and attribute it to your brand. It targets surfaces that resolve a question in place — AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask and assistant replies — rather than a ranked list of links. See what the evidence says about answer surfaces.
Ranking is no longer enough
You need to be cited, mentioned, and recommended.
Being cited, mentioned, and recommended are three different outcomes, and most brands only ever achieve the first one. Ranking is no longer enough because AI engines answer buyers directly and name only a short list of vendors as the recommendation — everyone else is cited in passing, if at all. Get a free AI Visibility Report to see exactly where your brand appears today across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot, where competitors are winning the recommendation instead, and what's keeping you from moving up the shortlist.