Updated 3 October 2026.
Google says there is nothing special you have to do to appear in its AI answers. That is true, and it is also why most advice on answer engine optimization is either obvious or invented. This post sorts out which is which.
What AEO means
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of making a page easy to quote as an answer: a direct response near the top, a heading that matches the question, a named source for every number, and markup that tells a machine what each part is. It applies to Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, and to assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
It does not replace SEO. A page that is not indexed cannot be quoted by anything that uses a search index.
What Google says about AI answers
Google’s documentation is plain on this. To appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet. Google lists no other technical requirement, and says no special markup, machine-readable file or schema is needed[1].
One detail is useful. Google’s AI features may run several related searches across subtopics to build an answer, which Google describes as query fan-out[1]. A page can be linked because it answers one of those sub-questions well, even if it does not rank for the main term. That is the opening for a specific, well-built page on a narrow question.
SEO and AEO side by side
| SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| What you chase | A ranked position for a keyword | Being the source an answer quotes |
| What counts as a win | A click | A citation or a mention, with or without a click |
| Page shape | Can build up slowly and reward the reader who scrolls | Each section answers one question on its own |
| How you check | Rank tracker and Search Console | Asking a fixed list of questions on a schedule, plus Search Console |
What the research found
The best-known study of this is a paper by Pranjal Aggarwal and five co-authors, presented at KDD 2024. They tested ways of rewriting content and reported that the best methods could raise visibility in generative engine responses by up to 40%[2]. Their test used a research benchmark, not your market, so read 40% as a direction and not a forecast.
It points the same way as everything else here. Pages that state things plainly, name their sources and give figures are easier to quote than pages that hedge.
What to change on a page
- Open each section with the answer, in 40 to 60 words, then add detail below it.
- Write headings the way the reader would ask the question.
- Put comparisons in a table.
- Name the source and the date for every figure. If it is your own data, say so.
- Show who wrote the page and when it was last updated.
- Keep answers in text. A figure inside an image or a PDF cannot be quoted.
Markup, and what it will not do
Since 14 September 2023, Google has shown FAQ rich results only for well-known government and health websites[3]. So FAQ markup will not get most business sites a snippet. We still add it to our posts, because it costs little and keeps each question paired with its answer for anything that reads the page. We do not promise a result from it.
Access, and a quick self-check
Check that your robots.txt and any firewall are not blocking the crawlers of the assistants you care about, and that the page’s text is in the HTML and not built by script after load. Ten minutes will tell you.
For the on-page basics there is a free tool of our own. RankStreet audits a page’s title, headings, structured data and FAQ readiness, and there is a Chrome extension that does the same on any page you open. We built both, so judge them on whether they find real problems.
How to tell whether it is working
Our own site is the test, and the numbers are modest. In the 90 days to 3 October 2026, 497 different searches containing “aeo” showed our pages 9,869 times and produced 24 clicks, at an average position of 39.6. “aeo services” did best, with 978 impressions, 10 clicks and an average position of 18.3. The definition searches are weak: “what is aeo” averaged position 34.7 across 165 impressions. This post is written for that gap, so we will check it again.
To measure your own, write 20 questions your buyers ask. Put them to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode once a month, and record if you are named, how you are described and who is named instead. Ask each question twice, because answers vary from run to run. Watch Search Console impressions on question-style searches, and any referral traffic from AI sources in your analytics.
No outsider can see how often an assistant cites your page, so every number here is a sample. Our own GEO case study and the Intex GEO case study use Search Console for that reason, since it is the only first-party data available.
One answer, rewritten
Here is the difference on one heading. A weak version reads: “Our pricing is flexible and tailored to your needs.” Nothing in it can be quoted, because it states nothing.
The stronger version, which is how we would write it for our own AEO page, sits under a heading such as “What does AEO cost?” and opens: “AEO with us sits inside SEO retainers that start at ₹50,000 plus GST a month for 30 keywords.” The figure, the unit and the scope are all in one sentence, and everything after it is detail for the reader who wants more.
Do this for each section of a page. Write the one sentence you would want an assistant to lift, put it first, and make sure it is true without the paragraphs around it.
Twenty questions to start with
The question list is the most useful thing you can build, so here is the shape of ours. Write the questions the way a buyer would type them, and keep them stable from month to month so results compare. For an Indian marketing agency, the list would include: which digital marketing agency in Delhi suits a B2B company, how much SEO costs per month in India, what the difference between SEO and AEO is, which performance marketing agency suits ecommerce, how long SEO takes, what an SEO retainer should include, whether AEO is worth paying for, and how to choose a digital marketing agency in India.
Add your own category’s comparisons, prices and objections. Questions about price and about choosing between providers matter most, because that is where a buyer is deciding.
Which pages to fix first
Start with pages that already rank between about positions 4 and 20, because they are indexed, trusted and one improvement away from being used. In Search Console, filter queries that begin with “what”, “how”, “why” or “best” and sort by impressions. Those are the questions people are already asking about you, and the pages that nearly answer them are your shortlist.
Leave pages with almost no impressions for later. If a page is not being shown at all, the problem is usually crawling, indexing or relevance, and rewriting the opening will not help.
What AEO will not fix
It will not make a thin site authoritative. If no other site mentions you, no page on your own domain is likely to be treated as the best source on the topic, however well it is built. It will not rescue a page that nobody can crawl. And it will not give you a result on a timetable, since assistants change how they pick sources without notice.
If your site has a few hundred impressions a month, fix the basics first: indexing, titles, speed, and a clear page for each service. Come back to AEO once those pages are being shown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO aims for a ranked position and a click. AEO aims to make a page the source an answer quotes, whether or not anyone clicks. They share the same foundations, which are a page that is crawlable, indexed and trusted.
Does AEO replace traditional SEO?
No. Google’s own documentation says a page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet before it can appear as a link in AI answers. SEO gets the page there, and AEO shapes how well it can be quoted.
How can I optimise my content for AEO?
Open each section with a 40 to 60 word answer, use headings that match the question, put comparisons in tables, name a source and date for every figure, and show the author and update date. Add FAQ markup if you like, but do not expect a rich result from it.
Does FAQ schema help me appear in Google’s answers?
Not directly. Google limits FAQ rich results to well-known government and health sites, and says no special markup is needed for AI Overviews. We use it for tidiness, not as a lever.
How long does AEO take to show results?
Changes to a page can show up in assistant answers within weeks, but the effect is hard to see without a fixed question list to compare against. Ranking for competitive searches still takes months.
What does AEO cost with DigiStreet?
It sits inside our SEO retainers, which start at ₹50,000 plus GST a month for 30 keywords. Details are on our AEO services page.
References
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website.
- Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, KDD 2024.
- Google Search Central, FAQ structured data, eligibility updated 14 September 2023.
- Search Console data for digistreetmedia.com, 5 July to 3 October 2026, web search.
