Get found in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. In plain English: making sure your business gets found by AI search engines. Think ChatGPT, Claude and Google Gemini. People ask those tools a question and get a direct answer. If your business appears in that answer, AEO is doing its job.
AEO is new and it matters. Until a few years ago, we searched for everything through Google. Now millions of people use ChatGPT to get answers. If you are not showing up there, you are missing customers you would have reached through SEO. AEO is the new standard.
How does it differ from SEO? SEO is about ranking high in Google with ten blue links. AEO is about being mentioned in an AI answer. With SEO, links carry a lot of weight. With AEO, clear content matters more. You need both.
In November 2022, ChatGPT launched. Within 2 months it had 100 million users. No product had ever grown that fast. For the first time, people could ask a plain question and get a complete answer in their own words. No links, just: here is your answer.
In 2023, things moved quickly. Everyone tried ChatGPT. Students used it for essays. Businesses used it for copy. Ordinary people used it for all sorts of questions. For the first time, Google faced real competition.
In 2024, Google responded. They launched SGE (Search Generative Experience), later renamed AI Overviews. An AI-generated answer now appears at the top of your search results. The ten blue links are no longer the first thing you see.
In 2025, Claude and Gemini grew rapidly. Millions of people use them every day. For more and more searches, people are choosing AI over Google.
And in 2026? That is where we are now. AEO is just as important as SEO. Smart businesses are working on both. Those who stick to SEO alone are falling behind.
How AI search engines changed everything in four years
OpenAI releases ChatGPT. Within 2 months it has 100 million users. A new way of searching is born.
People stop Googling simple questions and just ask ChatGPT instead. Businesses start to take notice.
Google responds with SGE (Search Generative Experience) and AI Overviews. An AI-generated answer now appears at the top of search results.
Claude and Gemini grow fast. More and more people choose an AI search engine over Google.
If ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini do not mention you, you barely exist. AEO is now a standard part of every marketing strategy.
AI search engines work differently from Google. They read your site in their own way. Four things matter most:
Google looks at links and keywords. AI looks at meaning. Does the AI understand what your page is about? Can it do something useful with that? That is what counts.
When someone asks "what is the best running shoe brand?", AI looks for a page that answers that question directly. Not one that dances around it.
Clear headings, bullet points and short paragraphs help AI understand your content. A wall of text does not work. Schema markup (extra code behind the scenes) helps too.
Question and answer. That is exactly how AI search engines work. A well-structured FAQ page with clear questions and concise answers is pure AEO gold.
The key differences at a glance
SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Works for | Google, Bing | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Primary signal | Links to your site | Clear content |
| Focus | Keywords | Questions and answers |
| Measurable result | Position 1-10 | Mentioned or not |
| Time horizon | 3-12 months | 1-6 months |
| Content type | Text-based pages | FAQs and explainers |
Google still has billions of users. Ignoring it means missing out on a lot of customers.
More and more people are turning to AI for answers. If you are not there, you do not exist for them.
Four steps you can start on today:
Think about the questions your customers ask. Write clear, complete answers to each of them.
Use headings, bullet points and short paragraphs. Make it easy to find the answer quickly.
Bring all your frequently asked questions together in one place. Add schema markup for an extra boost.
Short on time or inclination? AISEOPages automatically generates AEO-optimised pages for your site.
AISEOPages automatically creates pages that both Google and AI can understand.
AI search engines prefer to cite a clear piece of text that directly answers a specific question. The FAQ Tool adds exactly that beneath your existing pages: real questions from Google, with answers, plus 200 words of supporting content. On Lightspeed it is live with one click, otherwise copy it yourself.
The questions we get asked most often
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It means making sure your business gets mentioned by AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. These tools answer user questions by pulling information from websites.
SEO is about ranking high in Google. AEO is about being mentioned by AI. With SEO, links carry a lot of weight. With AEO, clear answers matter more. Both are important in 2026.
Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini a question about your industry or product. Does your business appear in the answer? If so, you are doing something right. If not, there is AEO work to be done.
No, absolutely not. Google is still huge. The best approach combines both: traditional SEO for Google and modern AEO for AI. Double the visibility.
The basics, yes. Write clear answers to frequently asked questions, create FAQ pages and add schema markup. For larger volumes of content and structure, some help goes a long way. AISEOPages handles it automatically.
Because we do not know your inventory. Fit, materials, what works with what: you know that, we do not. If we filled that in ourselves, we would be guessing. What we can do is identify what people are searching for on Google and answer those questions. That is what the FAQ Tool is for.