# AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

> AEO is the optimisation of content for AI answer engines such as ChatGPT or Perplexity — in practice largely the same as GEO. What the term actually means.

Synonyms: answer engine optimisation, AI SEO, LLM SEO

AEO puts the answer engine at the centre: systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews answer questions directly instead of showing lists of links. You therefore optimise not for a ranking position, but for appearing as a source in that one answer.

The term circulates alongside GEO, LLM-SEO and AI-SEO — yet almost always describes the same practice: clear, fact-rich, machine-readable content that an AI system can understand and cite correctly. Apply the principles once and you cover all of these labels at the same time — what matters is clean structure, verifiable facts and freshness, not the acronym.

For businesses this means: the question is not which abbreviation to pick, but whether your website is readable for answer engines — from opening hours to service descriptions. That is exactly what an AI-ready digital foundation delivers as standard.

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Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization
Last-Modified: 2026-08-03T10:39:23.682Z
Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization)
See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)
