AI search · 8 min read

AEO vs SEO: optimising for AI answer engines.

Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search and Perplexity now answer the questions a blue link used to. Here's what changes — and the seven things to put in place on your site this quarter.

By Jack Frampton · Published 9 June 2026

TL;DR

  • AEO = being cited inside an AI answer. SEO = being clicked from a blue link.
  • AI engines mostly cite pages already in the top 10 — SEO is still the prerequisite.
  • Lead with concise answers, use question-shaped H2s, ship FAQ + Article schema.
  • Author identity, real citations and dates matter more than ever.

The shift in 2026

Roughly half of informational searches in the UK now resolve inside an AI answer — Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Claude. The user gets the answer; the source page sometimes gets a tiny citation chip. Marketing that depended on top-of-funnel clicks needs a new optimisation layer: AEO.

How AEO differs from SEO

Classic SEO optimises for a ranking that earns a click. AEO optimises for a citation inside an answer the user never clicks. The on-page tactics overlap — semantic HTML, schema, fast pages, internal links — but the goal flips from "be the page they pick" to "be the page the engine quotes". That changes what to write and how to structure it.

Seven things to ship this quarter

  1. Lead with the answer. First paragraph = a clear, factual one-sentence answer to the page's headline question. AI engines lift these almost verbatim.
  2. Use question-shaped H2s. "How does X work?" beats "About X". The match between heading and prompt is what triggers a citation.
  3. Add FAQ, Article and Organization JSON-LD. AI crawlers parse schema faster than prose. FAQPage in particular is being lifted heavily into AI Overviews right now.
  4. Make author identity unambiguous. Name, photo, bio, LinkedIn link, credentials. AI engines weight authorship signals when picking which source to trust.
  5. Cite real sources with dates. Link out to original studies, official standards and primary research. Pages that cite become pages that get cited.
  6. Refresh dates and stats. AI engines visibly prefer recent content for time-sensitive answers. Add a "last updated" line and actually update.
  7. Build a clear topic cluster. One pillar page plus 4–8 supporting posts on the same subject signals authority on the topic, not just the keyword.

What stays the same

Core SEO doesn't go away — it becomes the floor. AI engines pull from the index Google and Bing already crawl, so unindexed or slow pages still won't be cited. Earn good links, keep your site crawlable, write for humans first. AEO is the layer on top.

How to measure it (badly, for now)

The honest answer: AEO measurement tooling is immature. Three workable proxies for 2026 — referral traffic from chat.openai.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com in GA4; weekly manual prompt testing where you log whether your domain appears in citations; and a watch on branded-search volume in Search Console, which tends to rise as AI mentions accumulate.

Frequently asked questions

What is Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)?
AEO is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Claude — quote your page when they answer a user's question. It overlaps with SEO but prioritises clear answers, source-worthy facts, structured data and trustworthy authorship over keyword density.
Is AEO the same as SEO?
No. Classic SEO optimises for ranking blue links a user will click. AEO optimises to be the source an AI cites inside its own answer — even if the user never clicks through. The on-page tactics overlap (clear H2s, schema, fast pages) but the goals diverge: SEO chases clicks, AEO chases citations.
How do I get my site cited in AI Overviews and ChatGPT?
Five things consistently work: (1) lead each page with a concise, factual answer to the question; (2) use semantic H2s phrased as the questions users ask; (3) add FAQ, Article and Organization JSON-LD schema; (4) cite real sources and statistics with dates; (5) make author identity clear — name, bio, credentials, LinkedIn link.
Will AEO replace traditional SEO?
No — it sits on top of it. AI engines still mostly cite pages that already rank in the top 10 organic results, so foundational SEO (crawlable site, fast pages, real backlinks, on-topic clusters) remains the prerequisite. AEO is the next layer: making your content quotable once it's already findable.
How do I measure AEO performance?
Three rough proxies until better tooling exists: (1) referral traffic from chat.openai.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com in GA4; (2) manual prompt testing — ask the engines your target questions weekly and log whether your domain appears in the citations; (3) brand-search volume in Google Search Console (AEO mentions drive branded searches even when they don't drive clicks).