Answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO), explained without the hype, plus what actually earns a citation in AI answers.
Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is optimising so your content is the source an AI answer quotes. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the broader practice of being visible and favourably represented across generative engines like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews. They overlap heavily, and both build on solid traditional SEO rather than replacing it.
When an AI answer resolves a query directly, fewer people click through, but the brands cited in that answer get disproportionate trust and referral traffic. Being the cited source is the new front page. Ignoring it means competitors become the default answer in your category.
Generative engines favour content they can extract cleanly and trust. In practice that means: clear, self-contained answers near the top of a section; strong entity and topical authority; corroboration across multiple reputable sources; and structured data that makes the meaning machine-readable. Vague, padded, or unstructured content is hard to quote, so it rarely gets quoted.
Track how often your brand appears in AI answers for your priority queries by testing them directly in ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Watch for referral traffic from AI sources in your analytics, and monitor branded-search lift, which often rises as AI citations introduce you to new audiences.
If you want this built into an SEO programme rather than bolted on, that is exactly how we treat it, see SEO Consultant UK.
No. AI search optimisation builds on traditional SEO: the same crawlability, authority and content quality that rank pages also earn AI citations. Think of AEO and GEO as an additional layer focused on being the quotable source, not a replacement for the fundamentals.
Publish clear, self-contained answers to the questions buyers ask, back them with genuine expertise and named authorship, add structured data that matches the content, and earn corroborating mentions on reputable sites. AI engines quote sources they can extract cleanly and trust.
Yes, when it accurately describes visible content. Clean Article, FAQPage and Breadcrumb markup helps engines understand and extract your content. Excessive or inaccurate schema does not help and can be treated as spam, so match markup to what is actually on the page.
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