What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Why It Matters in 2025

Do you remember when you had to wade through pages of results to locate what you were searching for when you searched the internet? Those days are almost over. People are more likely to ask ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or Google's AI Overviews a question these days and expect to get a full, short answer right away. Because of this big change, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a new way to think about content.

What is Answer Engine Optimization?

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the process of making your material more likely to be chosen and used by AI systems as the major source for their answers. Think of it this way: AEO is about being the expert that the judge (the AI) explicitly quotes when announcing the victory, while traditional SEO is about getting to the top of Google's search results page first.

It's more vital to make your website the trusted source of truth that AI systems rely on than to obtain a click.

Example of website root directory highlighting llms.txt file with its corresponding URL.

Why AEO is Important?

It's easy to understand people's behavior is changing. More of your audience is starting their journey in an AI chat window instead of a search bar. If your content isn't optimized for search engines, you lose out at the very top of the funnel. The goal here is to get seen in the following stage of search, where questions are asked in a conversational way and answers are given right away

How AEO Helps Rank in Zero-Click Searches?

Zero-click searches are when users find answers directly on the search page without needing to visit a website. With AI Overviews, featured snippets, and People Also Ask boxes dominating SERPs, this trend is only growing.

AEO plays a critical role here. By structuring your content to answer precise, conversational questions, adding schema markup, and demonstrating authority, your site is more likely to be pulled into these zero-click spots. While you may not always get a direct click, your brand gains visibility, trust, and authority right at the moment of search. Over time, this increased exposure leads to stronger brand recognition and higher-quality traffic.

Difference Between AEO and SEO

Comparison table of traditional web traffic vs LLMs.txt traffic showing differences in discovery, content exposure, latency, and ROI.

SEO focuses on ranking content for traditional search engines, while AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) ensures your content is directly used by AI-driven search and voice assistants. Combining both strategies helps your content stay visible in today’s AI-powered search landscape.

An Approach to Answer Engine Optimization That Puts People First

1. Don't just look at keywords; pay attention to questions.
Get over short-tail keywords. Your content approach should now be based on the long-tail, natural-language questions that your clients are really asking. AnswerThePublic and the "People Also Ask" boxes are great for this. Instead of optimizing for "SEO," make material that answers the question, "What is the most important SEO factor in 2024?"

2. Make it easy to scan your content
Both people and AI systems like information that is simple to understand. Use descriptive headers (H2, H3) to break up your information into logical parts. Use bullet points to bring out the most crucial ideas and themes. This structure makes it easy for AI to identify and get the most crucial information from your page.

3. Make Power That Can't Be Questioned
This is what AEO is based on. Why should an AI trust what you write? Show off your E-E-A-T.

• Experience: Write from a place of doing things instead of just thinking about them.

• Expertise: Show your qualifications, licenses, or deep knowledge.

• Authoritativeness: Build a name for yourself in your field and gain links from trusted websites.

• Reliability: Be honest, give credit where credit is due, and maintain your website open and honest.