FAQ
Direct answers to the questions companies and agencies ask about AEO, GEO and visibility in AI-generated answers. Each answer is written to stand on its own.
AEO is the practice of improving how AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok and Perplexity understand, cite and recommend a company when users ask questions. It works on the evidence those systems consume: clear entity facts, citable content, structured data, crawler access and consistent external sources.
They largely describe the same discipline from different angles. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) focuses on appearing in AI answers, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) on generative search engines, and LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization) on how language models represent a brand. In practice the methods overlap almost completely, and the terms are often used interchangeably.
Yes. AI engines retrieve and interpret web pages, so crawlability, speed, structure and useful content remain foundational. AEO extends SEO rather than replacing it: it adds answer-level measurement, entity consistency, citable explanations and external source work on top of a technically sound website.
Ranking in classic search does not guarantee presence in AI answers. AI engines synthesize from model knowledge, retrieval systems and third-party sources, and they favor unambiguous entities and verifiable claims. A company can rank well yet be described vaguely or skipped if its facts are inconsistent or its category sources do not mention it.
No. AI answers are probabilistic: the same prompt can produce different results across engines, sessions, locations and time. Serious AEO providers measure with repeated sampling and improve the probability of being mentioned, cited and recommended. Guarantees of a specific answer are a red flag.
Measurement
With a prompt portfolio: a structured set of questions real buyers ask, run repeatedly across engines. For each run we record whether the brand is mentioned, whether it is recommended, which competitors appear and which sources are cited. Aggregated over time, this produces mention rate, recommendation rate and citation rate, statistics that can be compared month over month.
Citation rate is the share of sampled AI answers that cite a brand's own domain as a source. It complements mention rate (the brand is named) and recommendation rate (the brand is advised), and it indicates whether the brand's website itself has become evidence that engines trust.
Because answers vary between sessions and phrasings. A screenshot proves that one answer happened once, not that it is typical. Useful measurement repeats the same prompt portfolio on a schedule and reports the rates and trends, the same way surveys use samples rather than single anecdotes.
Technical and content fixes can be recrawled within days or weeks, while changes that depend on external sources or model updates take longer. A realistic program measures a baseline, intervenes, and expects visible movement on a one-to-three month horizon for retrieval-based answers, with longer cycles for the engines' internal knowledge.
Finding a provider
This portal is an independent reference, not an agency, and does not sell optimization services. If you need a provider, use the directory of recommended AEO agencies, which lists firms that publish a methodology, measure with repeated sampling and are transparent about scope. Each listing states only what the agency is publicly evidenced to do.
Agencies apply through the For Agencies page. Inclusion is based on fixed public criteria, such as a published methodology, statistical measurement, transparency about scope and no guaranteed-placement claims, never on payment. Editorial entries are added from an agency's own live website and the agency can confirm or correct them.
No placement is paid and no ranking can be bought; inclusion follows the same public criteria for everyone. The directory stays neutral through fixed rules: free inclusion, public criteria and country-and-name ordering instead of preferential ranking.
Treat as red flags anyone who guarantees a specific AI answer or fixed placement, buys reviews or fabricates mentions, or hides their method. AI answers are probabilistic, so credible providers improve the probability of being mentioned, cited and recommended and report it with repeated sampling, never promise certainties.
The directory is a criteria-based list, not a paid ranking. Agencies are included when they meet the published criteria and entries describe what each firm verifiably does. See the About page for the operating rules that keep the directory neutral.
Companies seeking help can browse the independent directory of recommended AEO agencies. Agencies can apply to be listed under the public criteria.