In One Sentence
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) refers to tactics for getting your information displayed in the "answer" position that appears directly at the top of search results.
What does this look like in practice?
For example, if you search Google for "What is the distance from Tokyo to Osaka?", the very top of the search results shows the answer directly: "About 515 km".
The goal of AEO is to get your company's information displayed in that "direct answer position".
Another example: a health-food company's site getting cited as "100 mg (recommended for adults)" for a query like "What is the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C?".
Why it matters
- A highly visible spot: The direct answer position is the most visible area of the search results page (click-through rate is said to be 3-5x that of regular links)
- Conveys credibility: Being shown as "the answer Google / AI chose" boosts your authority
- Seen before competitors: More users now trust only the cited source without scrolling to lower links
Difference from GEO
A similar term is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
- AEO: Targets "direct answers" (Google Featured Snippets, citations in AI search, etc.)
- GEO: Targets "citations across generative AI in general" (being cited by Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini)
Lately GEO is the more widely used term, but the playbook (Schema.org, FAQ, llms.txt, etc.) overlaps heavily, and they are increasingly lumped together as "AEO/GEO tactics".
What counts as an AEO tactic
- Build out FAQ pages (make answers explicit in Q&A format)
- Implement Schema.org FAQPage / Article structured data
- Include question-style phrasing in headings (e.g. "What is X?", "How to X")
- Write answers in 1-2 concise sentences (verbose answers are less likely to be cited)