What AEO involves
Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, concerns content that answers questions in systems such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity. Beyond listing features, a page should help readers decide whether a product fits their needs.
Under a pricing heading, for example, explain what the price includes and what can change it. The explanation should make sense to someone reading that paragraph alone. No paragraph length or structure guarantees an AI citation.
I start with the page’s questions and information. External-source work and broader monitoring are described on the GEO expert page.
What makes a product page hard to understand?
- The answer arrives late. Put the answer near the start of the relevant explanation, then add detail.
- The subject is unclear. “This solution” may be confusing outside its surrounding text. Name the product when needed for understanding.
- Features lack a use case. Explain who benefits and give an example.
- Claims are vague. Replace broad adjectives with verifiable capabilities, limits and examples.
- Schema does not match the page. Markup should describe information actually present, such as product names or service details.
- Content access is unclear. Check initial HTML, JavaScript dependencies and blocking.
How we improve pages
1. Choose questions
Use search research, sales and support questions and other available sources. Assess relevance to each audience and buying stage. A research-tool metric remains that tool’s estimate.
2. Write a clear answer
Answer directly, then explain conditions and details. Add examples or sources where useful. Check pricing and plan facts against approved company information.
3. Organize the page
Use clear headings and group related information. Tables can help compare plans; use cases can explain fit.
4. Check Schema
Choose markup suited to the content, such as Organization, Product or BreadcrumbList, and verify that it matches the page. Google states that no special Schema is required for AI Overviews or AI Mode.
5. Check answers after publication
Repeat the chosen questions and save answers and links. Where a citation appears, inspect what was cited. One changed answer requires further investigation before attributing a cause.
6. Check page access
Review server responses, robots.txt and readable content for each relevant system. OpenAI, for example, uses OAI-SearchBot for search and GPTBot for training. llms.txt is not a crawler-permissions file.
What you receive
- A question list: what customers need to know and where the answers belong.
- Rewrites or briefs: product, use-case, comparison or pricing pages within the agreed scope.
- Schema guidance: selected types, relationships and validation instructions.
- Answer and citation records: before and after where repeat checks are included.
- Content-access findings: issues found and recommended fixes.
A mention and a link: inspect the research record
The study published on this site collected 24 Perplexity answers to six buying questions on 11 October 2026, twice per language. Collection and calculations used Codex assistance; Nir’s interpretation appears separately in the report.
Tracked brands appeared in 24 of 24 answers, while official-domain links appeared in 22. One English answer mentioned CyberArk but linked to its document on a distributor’s site. I recommend distinguishing the named company from the website the answer cites.
Read the full study · Download the answers and calculations. This is a small, one-day Perplexity panel, not a client result or a comparison of AI engines.
Frequently asked questions
What does an AEO expert do?
Identifies the questions a page should answer, improves explanations and checks that information is accessible and represented accurately in Schema. The aim is clear, accurate, usable content.
Is AEO only about Google Featured Snippets?
No. It can also cover answers in ChatGPT, Perplexity and other systems. Some content principles overlap, but each system needs separate checks.
Can we start with AEO alone?
Yes. Start with pages that lack answers or clear explanations. Access problems or inaccurate external information may need attention too.
Which Schema should we add?
Choose by page content. No special Schema guarantees AI citations. FAQPage and speakable are not general AEO requirements; their use should fit the relevant documentation and content.
How long does the work take?
It depends on page count, existing information and content and development capacity. We agree on a schedule before starting. Completing the work does not establish when an AI answer will change.
Can legal text and prices remain unchanged?
Yes. Identify protected text in advance and edit explanations around it. Agreed text remains unchanged.
Do you work in Hebrew?
Yes. Start with the Hebrew audience’s questions and write directly in Hebrew. English content is adapted for its audience while preserving facts.
How does AEO differ from GEO?
The terms overlap. My AEO work focuses on page answers and content access. GEO work also examines external sources and visibility across systems. See the GEO expert page.
Talk about your page
Send a page URL and the customer question it should answer. We can identify where to focus.
Let’s talk · niro@nirlevi.com · LinkedIn
