Businesses have spent years fine-tuning their search engine optimisation (SEO). Yet the rise of conversational assistants such as Google’s AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and dozens more has changed the rules. These tools deliver answers inside the results page, often without a single click to the source. Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), also called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), focuses on making your information the material those assistants quote. The guidelines below explain what that means in practice and how to build content that machines—and people—trust.
Why AEO is not just “next-gen SEO”
Traditional SEO chases rankings, impressions and visits. AEO chases answer share: the frequency with which your words appear inside an AI-generated reply. A page can rank third in Google and still feed the large language model that powers an AI Overview. That means good technical SEO remains necessary—if the crawler cannot reach a page, the model cannot either—but it is no longer sufficient.
AEO pushes three extra priorities:
- Precision over promotion – the copy must supply a direct, verifiable answer in the first 50-odd words.
- Machine-readable structure – headings, lists and schema make it easy for the model to isolate facts.
- Demonstrable authority – clear evidence of real-world expertise reduces the risk of a rival site, or the model itself, rewriting your point of view.
Write for questions, not just keywords
Search data shows Australians increasingly using full sentences in the address bar. “How do I claim the instant asset write-off?” will outperform “asset write off” when an assistant decides which source to cite. Build an editorial calendar around genuine questions from:
- “People also ask” boxes
- Customer service logs
- Voice search transcripts
Turn each high-value query into an answer-first paragraph. State the key fact, figure or definition straight away, then expand. This mirrors the way chatbots chunk text—and it respects the reader’s time.
Structure content so machines see the logic
Large language models rely on pattern recognition. Consistent formatting reduces ambiguity and widens the margin for accurate extraction.
| Technique | Practical tip |
| Headings as questions | Use H2/H3 tags such as What is the ATO’s small-business turnover threshold? |
| Short lists | Break multi-step guides into numbered points; models pick them up cleanly. |
| FAQ blocks | Pair each Q with a one-sentence A, then mark up with FAQPage schema. |
| Clear alt text | Describe diagrams and infographics for image-aware models. |
Keep paragraphs lean (three lines or so) and prefer active verbs. Jargon is acceptable where the audience expects it, yet explain acronyms on first use to help both humans and parsers.
Show Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
Google’s quality raters use E-E-A-T to judge credibility, and AI systems inherit similar signals. Lift your score by:
- Publishing author bios with credentials and a brief professional history.
- Citing primary sources—legislation, peer-reviewed studies, industry benchmarks.
- Using HTTPS, visible contact details and clear disclosure of sponsorships.
- Linking related articles internally to create a thematic hub.
Original data is gold. A survey of 500 Australian SMEs on cloud accounting, for instance, offers a unique statistic an assistant cannot find elsewhere. Models gravitate to that sort of proprietary figure because it differentiates the answer.
Technical foundations: schema, speed and semantics
Search bots still perform the heavy lifting of discovery. Make their job uncomplicated:
- Schema.org markup – add Article, HowTo, Product or LocalBusiness properties as appropriate.
- Logical HTML – <article>, <section> and <header> tags clarify hierarchy.
- Fast, mobile-friendly pages – many AI pulls happen on low-power devices; slow pages risk being skipped.
- Robots.txt sanity check – avoid inadvertently blocking JSON-LD or key resources.
Semantic URLs (e.g. /answer-engine-optimisation-guide) reinforce topical clarity. If your organisation serves multiple regions, include the locale in the slug or hreflang annotation.
Extend authority beyond your own site
Chatbots sample the broader web, not just the domain they quote. Consistency across external profiles helps the model confirm identity.
- Keep Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Yelp and industry directories up to date with identical NAP details.
- Encourage reputable sites to reference your research; a single mention in an academic journal can carry more weight than dozens of generic blogs.
- Participate in forums like Stack Exchange or community LinkedIn groups where technical peers validate your expertise.
Remember that unmoderated content carries risk. A dated brochure lurking on an old subdomain might resurface through Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Measuring AEO success
Fewer clicks do not automatically mean less value. New metrics tell the full story:
- Citation count – track how often chatbots name-check your brand. Manual sampling plus tools or SaaS dashboards can assist.
- Snippet impressions vs clicks – a high impression, low click ratio may indicate that your answer already satisfies the query.
- Post-impression conversions – monitor whether branded searches rise after a known AI mention, signalling latent demand.
Tie these signals to revenue rather than vanity traffic. NerdWallet famously lost visits yet grew turnover by focusing on answer fidelity—a reminder that the funnel has changed shape.
Common missteps to avoid
Stacking keywords: over-optimised text reads poorly and can confuse a language model.
Leaving content to age: facts stale quickly; schedule reviews at least twice a year.
Publishing AI-generated copy without checks: large language models sometimes fabricate figures. Human editors must verify every claim.
All in all, Answer Engine Optimisation rewards clarity, expertise and technical diligence. By writing to genuine questions, structuring pages for easy parsing, and backing claims with solid evidence, organisations place themselves in the citation chain of today’s conversational assistants. The benefit is authority at the precise moment users seek guidance—even when they never click a link. In short, focus on being the answer, not just an option, and the chatbots will do the amplification for you.
