Search has changed. Google now answers questions inside the results with AI Overviews. Bing does the same. If your brand is not included in those answers, you are invisible when buyers are deciding.
This guide shows you how to earn visibility inside AI-powered search. You will learn how AEO extends SEO for the new results page. You will see how AEO differs from GEO, which targets stand-alone generative engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot.
Who this guide is for
- Marketing leaders who need visibility where decisions happen
- SEO pros adapting to AI-driven results
- Content teams building pages that AI can cite
What you will get
- AEO fundamentals and the signals that matter
- Page structures that make extraction simple
- Schema you should use today
- Ways to strengthen entities and N-E-E-A-T-T
- Clear steps to audit and improve visibility
If you want your brand to be found, cited, and trusted inside AI-powered search results, this guide is for you.
What is Answer Engine Optimization?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a technical search strategy focused on optimizing content for synthesis by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems and Answer Engines like Perplexity, SearchGPT, and Google AI Overviews.
While traditional SEO targets link-based rankings, AEO prioritizes factual density and structured data to ensure a brand is the primary cited source in AI-generated responses.
AEO is often implemented alongside Neural Language Optimization (NLO) to align content with how Large Language Models (LLMs) interpret and deliver information.
How AI Overviews and Answer Features Work
AI Overviews pull information directly from web content. These systems scan, summarize, and present passages that best answer the query. They often cite sources, which can drive authority and trust for the brands included.
The challenge is that the model will not extract content evenly across all sites. It prefers structured, clear, and authoritative pages.
This is different from Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which focuses on stand-alone AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Bing Copilot.
Core Elements of AEO
To improve visibility in AI Overviews and similar features, your content must be built for extraction. The following elements are key:
Structured Content for Search Engines
Use schema markup such as FAQPage, HowTo, and Article. These signals tell search engines what your content represents.
Clear Answers on Page
Provide concise answers to common questions. Use direct, extractable text that matches how buyers ask their queries.
Entity Clarity
Make sure your content references proper names, linked concepts, and consistent terminology. Reinforce key entities with internal linking and structured data.
N-E-E-A-T-T Signals
Highlight notability, expertise, experience, authority, trust, and transparency. Include author details, sources, and citations.
Search Intent Alignment
Match your content to the way people phrase questions in search. Focus on informational queries that trigger overviews.
The Triple-Layer Discoverability Strategy
To stay visible in the AI era, brands must optimize for three distinct search layers:
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Focused on Citation. It establishes your brand as a core entity within the “memory” of LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude, ensuring you are recommended when AI models generate summaries based on their training data.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Focused on Discovery. It improves rankings in traditional “blue link” search results to drive direct organic traffic through keyword relevance and link authority.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Focused on Extraction. It structures content for real-time Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) used by Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to ensure your brand is the direct, synthesized answer to a user’s question.
Benefits of AEO
- Visibility in Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Bing answer features
- Higher authority through being cited in AI-driven summaries
- Stronger brand trust when buyers see your content in direct answers
- More qualified clicks when your source is highlighted as part of the response
How to Implement AEO
Answer Engine Optimization is not guesswork. The best way to start is with a structured audit that shows where your site is prepared for answer engines and where gaps exist.
Step 1: Structural Review
- Check for schema markup such as FAQPage, HowTo, and Article
- Confirm that pages include clear headings, lists, and question–answer formats
- Identify areas where content is too long, unstructured, or unclear for extraction
Example of “Service” schema using a Return On Now page:
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Service”,
“@id”: “https://returnonnow.com/services/ai-answer-engine-visibility-audit/#service”,
“serviceType”: “AI Search Visibility Audit”,
“provider”: {“@id”: “https://returnonnow.com/#org”},
“areaServed”: “United States”
}
Step 2: Entity and Context Signals
- Evaluate how consistently your brand, products, and key concepts are referenced
- Review internal linking to ensure entities are connected across your site
- Audit external signals such as citations and author details
Step 3: N-E-E-A-T-T Assessment
- Measure how well content demonstrates notability, expertise, experience, authority, trust, and transparency
- Confirm that sources are cited, authorship is clear, and trust signals are visible
Step 4: Content Gaps and Freshness
- Identify missing questions or topics that competitors cover in AI Overviews
- Highlight outdated content that may be skipped in favor of fresher sources
- Recommend priority topics for new supporting posts
Step 5: Action Plan
- Provide prioritized fixes for technical, content, and authority signals
- Outline short-term opportunities to appear in AI Overviews
- Recommend long-term improvements to strengthen visibility across your cluster
These tactics build on the same elements that are foundational for SEO with AI, such as semantic SEO and structured data.
An AEO audit delivers clarity on where you stand today. It removes guesswork and gives you a roadmap to become the brand that search engines cite in AI-driven answers.
Common AEO Pitfalls
- Treating AEO the same as SEO without adapting structure
- Writing long answers that are not easy for AI to extract
- Ignoring schema markup
- Allowing content to go stale without updates
Resources and Next Steps
Return On Now has been working with AEO since its earliest days. We were the first consultancy in Texas to offer AEO as a formal service. Our goal is to help brands stay visible, cited, and trusted as search continues to evolve.
If you want to see whether your brand is appearing in AI-powered search results today, start with our AI Search Visibility Audit.
About the Author
Tommy Landry is the founder of Return On Now, with over 25 years of experience helping businesses improve online visibility. His expertise spans SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), with a focus on combining Human + AI strategies to deliver measurable growth. Tommy has advised organizations ranging from startups to global enterprises, always with an eye toward smarter discoverability in the evolving search landscape.
References
Arora, A., & Bhatia, P. (2023). Conversational AI and its impact on information retrieval. International Journal of Information Management, 69, 102608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102608
Guha, S., et al. (2023). Answer engine optimization (AEO): The future of search visibility. Journal of Digital Marketing Research, 15(2), 45–59.
Liu, Y., Ott, M., Goyal, N., Du, J., Joshi, M., Chen, D., … & Stoyanov, V. (2019). RoBERTa: A robustly optimized BERT pretraining approach. arXiv preprint arXiv:1907.11692. https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.11692
Moz. (2023). What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)? Moz. https://moz.com/blog/answer-engine-optimization
Search Engine Journal. (2022). Answer engine optimization: How to optimize for Google and beyond. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/answer-engine-optimization/