What is AEO, and why is it being talked about now?
AEO, or answer engine optimization, means tuning your content and the technical side of your site so that an AI can use your company in its answer and point back to you. The same work also goes by the names GEO (generative engine optimization) and AI search optimization.
Search has changed. Google shows an AI answer above the results, ChatGPT and Perplexity hand over a finished recommendation, and a person may never open a single link. If your company is not named in that answer, you exist for that customer only if they scroll on. More and more often, they do not.
Where your customer asks for an answer today
- Google AI Overviews - the AI answer above the usual results
- ChatGPT and its web search
- Perplexity - search that always cites its sources
- Google Gemini
- Microsoft Copilot and Bing's AI answers
- Phone assistants that read the answer out loud
SEO and AEO - what is the difference?
The short answer: one website, two different audiences. SEO wins the click, AEO wins the mention. Most businesses need both.
| Question | SEO | NewAEO |
|---|---|---|
| Where the result shows up | In Google's list of results | Inside the answer the AI gives, and among its sources |
| What you work on | Keywords, pages and the link profile | Questions, clear answers and facts about your company |
| What brings the customer to you | A click on your link | A recommendation the AI reads out to your customer |
| How you measure it | Rankings, traffic, enquiries | Mentions and citations in AI answers, enquiries |
| Does it need a good website | Yes - the AI reads that same page | |
| How soon a result comes | Usually 4-6 months | Depends on the model and the content - often sooner, but less steadily |
What does AEO include?
Question research
We map the real questions your customers put to an AI about your field, and look at what the AI answers today.
Answer-shaped content
We write content that answers the question clearly in the very first paragraph - that is the shape an AI quotes most readily.
Structured data
Schema.org markup - the company, the services, prices, the questions people ask and reviews - hands a machine your facts in a form it does not have to guess at.
Access for AI crawlers
We check that your page renders without JavaScript, and set up robots.txt and llms.txt so that the readers you want can actually get in.
Details about the company that agree
The name, the address, the phone number and the descriptions of your services have to match everywhere. Details that contradict each other are the quickest way to be left out of the answer.
Being quotable, and being trusted
Reviews, directories, press coverage and clear author details - a model prefers a source that is backed up somewhere else as well.
Why it is worth starting on this today
In classic search the top ten is already taken, and forcing your way in takes years. In AI answers the game has only just begun, and most companies in Estonia have done nothing about it yet. For now the advantage is cheap.
The second reason is that AEO work is not wasted even if AI search were to stall tomorrow. A clear structure, correct facts, a fast page and good content are exactly the things that help in Google too, and that make the page better for a real visitor.
In short: AEO does not replace SEO, it is the next layer on top of it. The same groundwork, one more audience.
How we do your AEO
1. AI visibility audit
We put your field's questions to the answer engines and write down what they say today about you and about your competitors.
2. A plan for the questions
We pick the questions whose answers really do bring your business customers, and decide which facts have to be stated plainly on your site.
3. Content and technical work
We write the answers, add the structured data and make the page readable to a machine - all of it to one agreed plan.
4. Measuring again
We ask the same questions again and show in black and white what changed. The models keep updating, so we go round again.
Nobody can guarantee a place in an AI answer - the models are closed and they change every month. We can do the part that is within our control: give the machine clear facts, good content and access, and then measure what changed. If somebody promises you a guaranteed place in a ChatGPT answer, be careful.
AEO works best alongside these
Search engine optimization
Classic SEO brings the click from Google. AEO brings the mention in an AI answer. Together they cover both routes.
Content marketing and copywriting
An AI quotes content that answers the question clearly. Somebody has to write that content.
Web management
Facts go out of date. We keep your content, your prices and your structured data current, so an AI does not repeat yesterday's information.
Frequently asked questions
AEO, or answer engine optimization, means tuning your website so that an AI can use you in its answer and point back to you. SEO wins a place in the list of search results; AEO wins a place inside the answer itself. Much of the work is shared - a clear structure, correct facts and good content help with both.
No. Classic Google search still brings a large share of the traffic, and it is not going anywhere. Treat AEO as an extra layer: first you need proper SEO groundwork, and then we add the work on top that makes your information understandable to an AI.
No, and nobody else can promise that either. The models are closed and they keep changing. We do the part that can be checked: we give the machine clear facts, good content and access, and we measure before and after what the answer engines say about you.
We put a fixed list of questions to the answer engines before the work and after it, and compare the answers: are you mentioned, are you cited, and where you come in the list. We also watch the ordinary measures - enquiries, traffic, and which pages bring visitors in.
The audit and the first fixes usually fit into a couple of weeks. A change in the answers can come sooner than it would in classic SEO, but it swings about - the models update at different rates. That is why we keep measuring again and adjust the work as we go.
Usually not - we work with the site you already have. But if the site is slow, or its content only loads with JavaScript, some AI readers will not see it at all. In that case we say plainly what needs fixing, and we can do that work ourselves too.
The price depends on the state of your site, how competitive your field is, and how much new content has to be written. Ask for a free quote with no obligation - we make a first AI visibility review and show you where it is worth starting.