Settr Search
What is answer engine optimization?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of making your business the answer when someone asks a question: in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, in featured snippets, and in Microsoft Copilot, which all read from a search index.
From $79/month
Where answers appear
Three places.One foundation.
Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode and featured snippets read Google's index. Microsoft Copilot reads Bing's. A page that is not indexed, or not allowed to show a snippet, cannot be the answer.
AI chat apps like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are a different job. How GEO gets you named in them
From the source
No secret optimization.Google says so itself.
Google's guidance on its AI features is short. The same SEO best practices apply. There are no additional requirements, and structured data is not required.
Traffic from AI features is counted inside your normal Search Console data. Google also says that meeting every requirement does not guarantee a page is shown. Anyone selling a hidden AI Overview trick is contradicting Google's own documentation.
Eligibility
One tag can take you out.We check for it every week.
A stray noindex tag, a nosnippet tag, a tight max-snippet limit or a page that fell out of the index can keep you out of AI answers without anyone noticing.
The Technical agent checks indexing and snippet controls on your important pages every week and tells you exactly what it found. Whether a tag stays is your call.
Questions first
Which questions should a page answer?The ones customers already search.
Search Console lists the searches that already bring people to your site.
The Keywords agent picks out the ones phrased as questions, groups the ones that mean the same thing and gives each question one page to live on. Content then turns them into headings, in your customers' own words.
The work
Answer first.Then back it up.
Content rewrites the opening of each key page so the answer comes in the first two sentences.
Then it backs the answer up with facts only your business can supply: how long a visit takes, whether you quote first, which towns you cover. Schema stays accurate as basic hygiene, not as a lever. Every rewrite waits for your approval.
Measurement
Is there an AI Overview?Does it cite you?
Search Console does not separate AI Overview traffic from the rest. So for every search we track, the Rank agent records whether an AI Overview appears and whether it cites you.
AI Overview citations that also rank in Google's top 10
Ranking still matters. It is no longer the whole story.
In the room
Measured first.Then handed off.
The AEO week opens on Rank's baseline: which searches show an AI Overview, and whether it cites you. Technical then checks your pages can be shown, Content drafts the answer-first openings, and each rewrite waits for you with its before and after.
Every handoff gets an answer in the thread, in the same room as the rest of your search work. Next Monday, Rank checks the same searches against the same baseline.
Questions
AEO questions
What is answer engine optimization?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the work of making your business the answer that search engines' AI features give, such as Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode and featured snippets. It rests on normal SEO: pages must be crawlable, indexed and eligible to show a snippet, with clear answers worth quoting.
Is AEO the same as GEO?
They overlap almost completely, and the industry uses both names. On this site, AEO means being the answer inside search engines' AI features, like Google's AI Overviews. GEO means being mentioned and cited by AI chat apps like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The same foundation serves both: a crawlable, indexed, trusted website.
How do I get my business into Google's AI Overviews?
Be indexed, be eligible to show a snippet, and answer the question clearly on a page that deserves to rank. Google says there are no extra requirements beyond that. Ranking still helps: an Ahrefs study found that about 38% of AI Overview citations in early 2026 came from pages in the top 10 for the query, down from 76% in July 2025.
Does schema markup help with AI Overviews?
Not as a shortcut. Google says structured data is not required for its AI features, and a controlled Ahrefs test in 2026 found no lift in AI citations from adding it. We keep your schema accurate because it supports rich results and costs nothing, not because it is a trick.
Can I see AI Overview traffic in Search Console?
Not separately. Google counts it inside your normal Search Console performance data. That is why we also record, for each tracked keyword, whether an AI Overview appears and whether it cites you.
Can a page be kept out of AI answers by mistake?
Yes. A noindex tag, a nosnippet tag or a tight max-snippet setting can keep a page out of Google's AI features, and blocking Googlebot removes you from Google altogether. The agents check for these every week.