AI search · 6 min read
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) checklist for 2026
A 15-step AEO checklist to get your content cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews — written for UK small businesses.
By Jack Frampton, Multi-Channel Marketer at Queen's College, Taunton · Published 30 June 2026
AEO is SEO for systems that summarise instead of link. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini all extract, paraphrase and cite — and the rules for being chosen are now stable enough to checklist.
Content-level checks
- One direct answer under each H2 (40–80 words).
- Entity-rich first paragraph naming the brand, product and location.
- Original data, screenshots or quotes engines can attribute.
- Author byline with credentials and a real bio page.
Technical checks
- Article + FAQPage + Organization schema.
- Canonical URL, lastmod date, fast LCP (under 2.5s).
- Open Graph and Twitter card metadata.
- llms.txt at the site root listing canonical URLs.
Off-site checks
- At least one Reddit or forum mention with a link.
- Wikipedia/Wikidata entity (where appropriate).
- YouTube video with transcript covering the same topic.
- Consistent NAP across Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and citation directories.
Frequently asked questions
- What is AEO?
- Answer Engine Optimisation is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews) cite your site when summarising answers.
- Is AEO different from SEO?
- It overlaps heavily but prioritises structured answers, entity clarity and source attribution over keyword density and backlinks.
- How long does AEO take to work?
- Citations can appear within days of publishing if the page is well-structured and indexed quickly. Sustained visibility takes 2–4 months of consistent output.
- Do I still need backlinks for AEO?
- Yes — authority signals still matter. But mentions, citations and entity recognition now matter at least as much as classic dofollow links.