Answer Engine Optimization Services
Pages that give buyers a clear answer, checked in Google and AI answers, by date.
Our answer engine optimization services make your pages give a clear, direct answer to the questions your buyers ask, in Google features such as featured snippets and People Also Ask and in AI answers. As an answer engine optimization agency, we do the page work ourselves and re-check the same questions by engine and date.
See which buyer questions your pages answer today, checked by engine and date.
Mention
brand namedThe answer names your brand.
Citation
source citedThe answer points to a page or source.
counted separately
What answer engine optimization means here
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of making a page answer one specific question: the question as a heading, a short answer first, details after.
Google says that, from its perspective, "optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO" (Google's guide to generative AI features). We agree. For us, AEO is SEO work on the format of the answer, plus checking the result in AI engines. It is not a separate trick.
It is a different job from getting engines to name and cite your brand. That is about how engines see your brand and sources. This page is about the answer on your own page. For the whole picture, see our full AI search offer.
What our AEO services cover
The work has four parts, and all of them happen on your pages.
#question-research
Question research
We collect the questions buyers really ask: queries from your Search Console (with your Search Console access), questions from sales and support, People Also Ask and related searches in Google (checked by hand, with a date), and the prompts people put to AI engines. We merge near-identical wordings into one question and give it one page that answers it.
We don't build a page for every wording. Google says that creating separate content for every possible variation of how people search, primarily to manipulate rankings, violates its scaled content abuse policy (Google's guide).
#answer-structure
Answer structure
The question goes in the heading. The answer comes in the first sentence or two of the section. Details follow. A list, table or set of steps appears only where the answer is naturally a list, a comparison or a process.
The reason is plain: Google advises organizing content in a way that helps readers, with headings that give a clear structure (Google's guide to generative AI features). We don't promise that a format will produce a snippet or an AI answer.
#structured-data
Structured data that matches the page
We add schema.org markup in JSON-LD only for what a reader can see on the page, and we check that it is valid. Per Google, markup makes a page eligible for a rich result but doesn't guarantee one, and you must not mark up content users can't see (Google's structured data guidelines).
Google's AI features need no special markup. Google also stopped showing the FAQ rich result, so we don't sell FAQ markup as a way to get a snippet. Fake reviews and ratings never go into markup.
#snippets-and-paa
Featured snippets, People Also Ask, voice and AI answers
Here is what the documentation says. Google's systems choose a featured snippet, and you can't flag a page as one. You can only opt out, with nosnippet, data-nosnippet or max-snippet (Google's featured snippets documentation). For AI Overviews and AI Mode there are no extra requirements: the page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet (Google's AI features documentation).
For People Also Ask, Google has no documentation we can cite. We check which questions appear there for your topics and note the date.
Voice: Google's speakable markup is in beta, for news articles on Google Assistant devices (speakable documentation), so we don't promise voice answers. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini answers we check rather than predict (see how we check).
What we don't do, and why
Below are popular AEO tips that Google's own guide says you can ignore for Google Search.
- 1
We don't chop pages into chunks "for AI"
Google says "chunking" isn't needed for its AI features. We write sections for readers (see answer structure). Source: Google's guide.
- 2
We don't rewrite your site "for AI" or spin out query variations
Google says you don't need to write in a specific way for generative AI search, and separate content for every variation of a query, made primarily to manipulate rankings, violates its scaled content abuse policy (Google's guide).
- 3
We don't sell llms.txt or "AI markup" as a lever for Google
Google Search doesn't use them. For other systems it's your call, and we promise no result (Google's guide).
- 4
We don't add FAQ markup to win a snippet
Google no longer shows the FAQ rich result (Google Search Central updates). Markup for questions visible on the page can stay as part of your general markup, but not for a snippet.
- 5
We don't buy mentions or answers
Google says seeking inauthentic "mentions" across the web isn't as helpful as it might seem (Google's guide). We place no hidden paid mentions and no "independent" articles written by us.
This is what Google writes about its own search. There is no such documentation for ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini, so there we don't generalize. We check (see how we check).
How an AEO engagement runs
Four steps, each on the same set of buyer questions.
- 1
Question baseline
We fix the set of questions and check who answers them today: in Google (featured snippet, People Also Ask, AI Overviews; by hand, with date, US location) and in the AI engines we choose (engine, model, date).
Start with an AI visibility audit - 2
Map questions to pages
Each question gets one page: an existing page we fix, or a new one only if none exists. You see the map before work begins.
- 3
Rewrite answers and fix markup
We edit answers, structure and markup ourselves, together with your team. Product facts come from you. We don't invent them.
- 4
Re-check the same questions
Same questions, same engines, new date. The report says what changed and what didn't.
We agree the timeline with you before work starts.
What we can do, and what we don't promise
Featured snippets, People Also Ask and AI answers change between checks, engines, models and dates, and the search engine or AI engine decides which page it shows.
We do
- Find the buyer questions and the pages that should answer them.
- Rewrite answers so the direct answer comes first.
- Bring markup in line with the visible text, and check it.
- Re-check the same questions in Google and AI engines, with dates, and show what changed and what didn't.
We don't promise
- A featured snippet.
- A place in People Also Ask.
- A rich result from markup.
- A place in AI Overviews or AI Mode, or in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini answers.
- Answers from voice assistants.
- A number of clicks or positions.
We improve your chances, check, and report.
We don't use
Hidden text or prompt injection aimed at models. Markup for content readers can't see. Fake reviews or ratings. Mass-produced Q&A pages built around query wordings (scaled content abuse). See Google's spam policies.
How we check whether your pages answer
A change shows only when you compare two checks of the same questions made the same way.
- 1
The question set comes first
We agree the questions and their wording with you and fix them before the first check. We compare only checks of one set.
- 2
Google data from your Search Console
With your access, we read Search Console data, including the Generative AI performance report. Google offers this route itself, and it says no third-party tool has access to Google's internal systems (Google's guide). We don't treat a rank tracker as the truth.
- 3
Snippets and People Also Ask, checked by hand, with a date
We record location (US) and date. The results change from one check to the next.
- 4
AI answers: engine, model, date, several runs
Every answer is logged with its engine, its model (when the platform shows it) and its date. Each question is asked several times, because answers vary between runs, models and dates (see AI visibility prompt volatility). One screenshot is not a measurement.
- 5
Where the answer came from
We count separately: the answer taken from your page; your brand mentioned without your page; the answer taken from someone else's page.
- 6
Markup checked for validity, not "wins"
We test markup with the Rich Results Test and URL Inspection. Valid markup is not the same as getting a rich result, and we report it that way.
Answer sample · prompt P-04run 3 of 8
which agencies help b2b saas brands show up in ai answers?
- brand named
- source cited
- competitor named
[engine] · [model] · [date] · run 3 of 8illustration of the method
Tally · same prompt, 8 runs
[engine] · [model] · [date range]Answers change from run to run, so we count repeats instead of trusting one screenshot.
For ongoing tracking, we repeat the checks on a schedule.
Scope & pricingon request
Scope depends on
- 01the number of engines
- 02the size of the prompt set
- 03markets and languages
- 04how often we measure
- 05how much content and technical work is needed
Start with an AEO audit
We start by looking at which buyer questions your pages already answer and where the answer comes from someone else's page. We agree the scope of work after that.
Frequently asked questions
What are answer engine optimization services?
Answer engine optimization services are work on your pages so they directly answer buyers' questions, plus dated checks of those answers in Google and AI engines. They cover question research, answer structure, accurate structured data and checks of snippets, People Also Ask and AI answers (what we cover).
Is AEO different from SEO?
For Google, no. Google says optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO (Google's guide). We do the same SEO groundwork, focused on the format of the answer, and we also check the result in AI engines.
How is AEO different from GEO?
AEO works on your page: the question and the direct answer under it. Generative engine optimization works on how engines treat your brand and which sources they cite about it. Many sites need both, and the audit shows which matters more for you.
Can you guarantee a featured snippet or a spot in AI answers?
No. Google picks featured snippets and People Also Ask, and AI answers change between runs, models and dates. We improve your chances, check and report (see what we don't promise).
Does FAQ schema still help?
Not for a Google snippet: Google stopped showing the FAQ rich result in May 2026 (Google Search Central updates). Markup for questions visible on your page can stay as part of your general markup, but we don't add it to win a snippet.
Do we need an llms.txt file?
Google Search doesn't use it (Google's guide). For other systems it's your decision, and we don't promise a result. To test it on your own pages, see our llms.txt AI visibility test design.
How do you choose an AEO agency?
Look for an AEO agency that:
- doesn't promise a snippet or an AI answer;
- shows how it checks, with engines, models and dates;
- doesn't sell "secret" Google metrics, since no third-party tool has access to Google's internal systems;
- doesn't produce pages in bulk.
Google has its own guidance on third-party SEO. For agencies that also do GEO, see our checklist for the best GEO agencies.
How much do AEO services cost?
On request. Scope depends on the number of questions and pages, the engines, the markets and languages, how often we re-check, and how much content and markup work is needed. You can start with an AI visibility audit.
See which questions your pages answer today
We start with what your pages answer today, and we date every check.