Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
What is AEO?
AEO in marketing stands for Answer Engine Optimization.
It’s the strategy of optimizing your content to be selected and featured as a direct answer by LLMs / answer engines like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, DeepSeek, and Grok.
Why is AEO So Popular in 2025?
Because while total Google searches are still growing, LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini are taking market away from Google Search everyday. The writing is on the wall, and everyone that’s been doing SEO knows that they need to use AEO to adapt to the competition sooner or later.
AEO vs GEO
Marketers are currently using the terms AEO and GEO interchangeably. The industry has still not decided which term will become the common vernacular among experts.
AEO vs SEO
The differences between AEO and SEO start with how results are delivered:
| Aspect | SEO | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| User Experience | Users click links from a list of results. | Users receive a direct conversational answer without browsing multiple links. |
| Output Format | 10 blue links + snippets. | AI-generated summaries, citations, or chat responses. |
| Visibility Metric | Impressions, clicks, position in SERP. | Mentions, citations, ranking position in AI responses (LLM rank tracking). |
| Platform Examples | Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo. | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, Copilot, etc. |
AEO strategies are similar in execution to SEO strategies, but there’s a difference in their priorites and tactics:
| Factor | SEO Focus | AEO Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Search queries typed by users. | Questions and prompts phrased conversationally. |
| Content Style | Keyword-driven, scannable, metadata optimized. | Conversational, authoritative, and factual with strong source credibility. |
| Ranking Signals | Backlinks, on-page optimization, technical SEO, engagement metrics. | Data transparency, factual alignment, structured data, citations, and entity understanding. |
| Tools Used | Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush. | AI visibility tools like Cairrot, Peec AI, or Profound (track AI citations and rankings). |
Best AEO Experts and Researchers to Follow
The following list of experts, researchers, agency owners, and influencers in the SEO / AEO space are recognized by Cairrot for a combination of the following:
- Helpful information.
- Trustworthiness.
- Contributions to the AEO industry.
Consider following them for helpful AEO advice, case studies, and research.
| Name | Why follow (specialty / angle) | Most active platform | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lily Ray (Amsive) | Deep, ongoing analysis of AI Overviews impact and citations; shares practical takes & experiments. (Lily Ray) | X / LinkedIn | X · Site |
| Brodie Clark | Hands-on experiments that revealed how AI Overviews/AI Mode show up in GSC; constant AIO tracking. (Brodie Clark Consulting) | X / Blog | Post |
| Mike King (iPullRank) | “Relevance engineering,” detailed playbooks for AI Mode & GEO; strategic + technical. (iPullRank) | LinkedIn / Blog | How AI Mode works |
| Aleyda Solís | Actionable “AI Search” checklists & visuals; bridges classic SEO to GEO/AEO. (Aleyda Solis SEO) | AI Search checklist | |
| Glenn Gabe | Data-driven posts on AI Overviews’ traffic impact & measurement methods. (GSQi) | X / Blog | Post |
| Mordy Oberstein | Opinionated, brand-first lens on AI search & AIO; frequent LinkedIn essays. (LinkedIn) | Profile | |
| Cyrus Shepard (Zyppy) | Research/think pieces on how AIO shifts clicks; experiments on AI-era visibility. (Zyppy Marketing) | X / Blog | Article |
| Rand Fishkin (SparkToro) | Audience & zero-click data, AI usage trends that shape GEO strategy. (SparkToro) | LinkedIn / Blog | Post |
| Jason Barnard (Kalicube) | Early AEO/Brand SERP pioneer; entity/knowledge-graph strategy for answer engines. (Jason BARNARD) | LinkedIn / Site | AEO explainer |
| Patrick Stox (Ahrefs) | Giant AIO datasets (tens of millions), correlation studies & SERP position of AIOs. (Ahrefs) | X / Blog | Study |
| Johannes Beus (SISTRIX) | Sharp commentary + tools on tracking AIO & AI Mode; watchdog takes on “GEO” hype. (SISTRIX) | LinkedIn / Blog | AIO hub |
| Britney Muller | ML-meets-SEO voice; pragmatic AI workflows & education for marketers. (Maven) | LinkedIn / Course | Actionable AI |
| Jono Alderson | WordPress + AI search + structured data posture; how to build for an AI-mediated web. (Jono Alderson) | Blog / LinkedIn | Essay |
| Joost de Valk (Yoast founder) | WordPress SEO leadership; where WP & AI search are headed for publishers. (joost.blog) | Blog / LinkedIn | joost.blog |
| Austin Armstrong | TikTok-native SEO + AI content tactics; vertical video + “AI search meets social” playbooks. (Get My List Of 150+ Useful AI Tools) | TikTok / Newsletter | Newsletter |
| Nate Matherson | Perplexity/AI search trend tracking; posts data-driven takes on LLM search. (LinkedIn) | LinkedIn / X | |
| Izzi Smith | Talks on agentic AI and practical ecommerce SEO in the AI era. (Women in Tech SEO) | Conferences / LinkedIn | WTSFest talk |
| Luke Carthy | Ecommerce-heavy SEO with modern AI/search POV; CRO + retail specifics. (LinkedIn) | Profile | |
| Barry Schwartz | Daily pulse of Google/AIO updates; fast signal on changes that affect GEO. (Search Engine Roundtable) | SERoundtable / X | SERoundtable |
| Aleyda’s LearningSEO “AI Search” hub | Curated AI Search/AEO/GEO resources & checklists (great for team onboarding). (Aleyda Solis SEO) | Website | Resource hub |
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