From SEO to AEO: Getting Found When People Ask AI Instead of Google

Search has changed. Instead of scrolling through ten blue links, many people now read an AI-written summary at the top of Google, or simply ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity what to buy and who to call. If your business isn't part of those answers, you can be invisible even when people are searching for exactly what you offer.

What is AEO?

Answer engine optimisation (AEO) means making your website easy for AI systems to understand, trust and quote. Traditional SEO focuses on ranking a page. AEO focuses on being the source an AI picks when it puts together an answer. The two overlap heavily — most of what helps one helps the other.

Practical steps that make a difference

• Answer real customer questions directly, in plain language, near the top of the page.
• Add a genuine FAQ section that reflects what people actually ask you.
• Use structured data (schema.org markup) so machines can read your business details, services and FAQs.
• Keep your name, address, phone number and opening hours identical everywhere online, including your Google Business Profile.
• Make sure the site loads quickly and works well on phones.
• Show who you are — real team, real location, real work. Trust signals matter to AI systems too.

What not to do

Don't flood your site with thin, AI-generated pages stuffed with keywords. Search engines and AI assistants are increasingly good at recognising low-value content, and it can hurt how much they trust the rest of your site. A smaller number of genuinely useful pages beats a large pile of filler.

Where to start

Start with the questions your customers ask you on the phone every week. If your website answers those clearly and honestly, you're already ahead of most competitors — in traditional search and in AI answers.