Short answer: answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of getting your brand named, cited and recommended in AI answers from assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Copilot. Where SEO aims for a ranking, AEO aims for the answer itself.
Why AEO matters now
Buyers increasingly ask an AI assistant before they ever visit a website. If the answer names three competitors and not you, you lose the deal before it starts, and no analytics tool will show it.
How AI decides what to say
AI assistants build answers from the sources they trust: your own pages, review sites, publications, forums and comparison content. AEO improves how your brand appears across those sources.
The core parts of AEO
- Prompt tracking: know which buyer questions matter and whether you are named in the answers
- Source analysis: see which sites each engine cites
- Content: publish clear, answer-shaped pages for the questions you are missing
- Earned mentions: appear in the publications AI relies on
- Measurement: track your share of AI answers against competitors over time
Getting started
- List the 20 to 50 questions buyers ask before they buy
- Check how each AI engine answers them today
- Find the gaps where competitors are named and you are not
- Fix the highest-impact gaps first
How Tallee helps
Tallee tracks your visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Copilot, shows the sources behind each answer, and ranks every opportunity by predicted impact. Tallee experts work alongside your team to act on it.
FAQ
Is AEO the same as GEO? The terms are used almost interchangeably. Both describe optimizing for AI-generated answers.
Does AEO replace SEO? No. Strong SEO still helps, because many AI engines draw on web content. AEO adds a view of the answer itself.
