Answer engine optimization (AEO)
Also known as: AEO
Definition
Answer engine optimization is the practice of structuring content so that search engines and AI assistants can extract a direct, accurate answer from it.
Why it matters
Answer engines reward pages that state a clear answer near the top, use headings that match real questions and back claims with sources. The same habits help people skim.
Example
A page titled with a question, followed by a two sentence answer, a short list and a sourced statistic.
Related terms
Optimization
Generative engine optimization (GEO)
Generative engine optimization is the practice of improving how often and how accurately a brand or page is used in answers written by generative AI systems.
Optimization
Structured data
Structured data is markup, commonly schema.org in JSON-LD, that describes the meaning of a page's content in a form machines can read.
Concepts
Zero-click search
A zero-click search is one where the person gets what they need from the results page or an AI summary and does not click through to a website.
What is Answer engine optimization?
Answer engine optimization is the practice of structuring content so that search engines and AI assistants can extract a direct, accurate answer from it.
Why does answer engine optimization matter?
Answer engines reward pages that state a clear answer near the top, use headings that match real questions and back claims with sources. The same habits help people skim.
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