AEO and GEO: What They Are and Why Your Business Needs Them Now

FTR (For the Robots)
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are the new standards for getting your business found online. AEO structures your content to appear as direct answers in AI-generated search results. GEO positions your content as a trusted, frequently cited source in large language models like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. Both work alongside traditional SEO and require clear, well-structured content with direct answers, FAQ sections, schema markup, and short summary paragraphs. This issue of the Email Marketing Ecosystem Newsletter explains what AEO and GEO are, how they differ from SEO, and specific steps small business owners can take to improve their visibility in AI-generated search results.

(Sigh) The robots really are taking over.

AEO and GEO are now the “name of the game” when it comes to getting found on the internet. They’re similar, but not quite the same thing. But they definitely matter when it comes to getting people to engage with your business.

I’m sure you’ve seen the AI summaries at the top of the various search engines. These are at the top of the page and basically give the answer to whatever the query is, usually along with a few links. This is now how most people get their information from the search engines.

If you ask a question of any of the AI LLMs, like Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity, you get something similar. The answer, with associated links as needed but not prominently featured.

This is great for everyone searching for something on the internet. It’s a problem for the referenced businesses, and for every business trying to get actual human beings to their websites.

Time was, when you searched for something, you had to click through to a company’s website to get the information you were looking for. Now, it’s handed to you on a silver (or white, or vaguely beige) platter. No need to go any deeper, unless you’re a weirdo like me who loves researching stuff.

Businesses are struggling to get engagement from search on their websites, which is where they sell their products and services.

Ads are more expensive too, and they’re not working the way they used to.

Two major problems due to two major changes in the way we search for answers.

What Are AEO and GEO?

Great question. I will be honest and say I am just learning about these myself, but I’ll do my best to answer.

AEO

AEO or Answer Engine Optimization “focuses on helping website content appear as direct answers in search results.” According to HubSpot. Essentially, it optimizes for answers.

The goal with AEO is to structure your content so it can be cited directly within AI-generated answers. That’s everything from searching with a more traditional search engine, to asking the LLMs, to asking Siri, Alexa, or other voice search assistants.

You want to position your content to show up in AI responses as “the” answer users are looking for. This gives your brand authority and visibility in what is now being called a “zero-click world.”

GEO

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is more about the LLMs, like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. The idea is to shape how these systems understand and reproduce information. GEO optimizes for citations.

According to the Digital Marketing Institute, “GEO prioritizes long-term influence in the datasets that power AI responses. The goal is not only to appear in AI-generated answers but also to ensure your content becomes a trusted and frequently referenced source that these systems learn from and continue to cite over time.”

These two systems overlap a bit, but they are technically different. One is about information, the other is more about reputation and trust. They both affect how your company and your product or service are seen in the world, and whether people will ultimately click through to learn more or buy.

What Happened to SEO?

Oh, SEO is still out there. It does still matter. The problem is, if you don’t also optimize for AEO and GEO, you won’t show up anywhere near the top of standard SERP (search engine results pages), which means no one will find your website or your business.

A little tidbit I learned from my friend Rose Thun’s weekly newsletter:

“Here’s the marker for how fast this is moving. Last fall, HubSpot quietly acquired a ten-month-old startup that tracks how brands show up in AI answers. Five months later, in April, they launched the integrated product. They named it the same thing the rest of us have been calling it: AEO. Answer Engine Optimization.

When the company that lost the most is buying the tools and selling them back to the market in under six months, the shift is no longer leading-edge. It’s table stakes.”

How AEO, GEO, and SEO Affect Your Business Right Now

The answer is, profoundly.

It’s harder to get people’s attention everywhere online. This is true in social media, in web searches, in SMS text marketing, like I said, everywhere.

However, if you’ve been working to make your business as visible as possible, you may be in a better position than you’d think. Some of the techniques you already use to improve your SEO carry over into AEO and GEO, like:

• Creating and publishing great content
• Making your content easy to read and understand
• Adding bulleted lists, tables and graphs to your content
• Structuring your website so things are easy to find
• Including internal links on your website so things point to each other in a logical way

There are also some simple steps you can add to improve your AEO and GEO visibility, like:

• Adding FAQ sections to every page and post on your website (usually at the bottom)
• Implement schema markup to help AI and search engines learn what your page is about
• Add a short summary paragraph at the top of every page and post

You’ve seen me do this last one a lot lately. This is due to another interesting tidbit I learned from my friend Rose. AI reads your web pages just like a customer would.

Most people arrive on a page and scan the first paragraph or two to see if they can find what they’re looking for. If they feel like they’re on the right track, they keep reading.

The robots, don’t. They only read the top of the page.

That’s why you’re seeing more pages with short summaries at the top, to give the robots a good idea of what the page contains.

I’ve seen these labeled “summary”, “TL:DR” and of course my version, “FTR” which stands for “For the Robots.”

It’s hard to pin down how much of the page the robots actually read. It’s changing a lot. For the purposes of this newsletter issue, I did the logical thing. I asked the robots.

Here’s what Claude said:

“Structure content with direct answers in the first 40–60 words, and maintain fact density with statistics roughly every 150–200 words. One GEO guide recommends modular, answer-focused sections — each answering a single question in 75–300 words.

That’s the real answer: the retrievable chunk, not the page, is what the model “reads.” Design for ~150–300-word sections that are self-contained.”

Honestly, Claude gave a much longer answer, but this was the relevant part, at least until the algorithms change again.

Here is my personal hack for this summary section…

You know that I write every word of this newsletter myself. It is my pride and joy, and I like writing it.

The summary at the top is the one place I let the robots write for me.

Once I write the text for the week’s issue, I upload it to Claude and ask it to write an opening summary that will tell the robots what the issue is about.

Because I am me, I tend to write and rewrite the AI output a few times, unless I feel like Claude really nailed it. But generally speaking, as this section is for the robots, I’m willing to let it be by the robots. This week, I decided Claude’s version was perfect.

How To Figure Out Whether Your Business Is Being Seen In AEO and GEO Searches.

I will once again refer you to my friend Rose’s newsletter. This is what she recommends:

Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.

Ask it, in plain English, what one of your customers would ask: “What’s a good [your category] in [your area]?” or “How do I choose a [your service]?”

Read the answer.

Notice three things.

One. Are you in it?

Two. If you’re not, who is? What do they have on their site that you don’t?

Three. What did the AI get almost right about your category — close but not quite?

That gap is the page you haven’t written yet.

That’s your baseline reading. Run it again in 30 days. You’ll see your own velocity.

I did this for my business, using the question, “Who is a good copywriter in Ventura, CA?”

I showed up at the top of the list in Claude, but it linked to my Alignable profile

I was top of the list again in Gemini, but it linked to my LinkedIn profile.

I didn’t show up at all in ChatGPT.

I showed up at the top in Perplexity but it linked to my LinkedIn profile again.

The robots are finding me and recognizing my expertise and authority. But I have some serious work to do on my website. Fortunately, I’m revamping it right now, so I hope that will improve soon.

I recommend that you run this simple test for yourself to see where you are.

Or you can get my friend Rose to help you.

I’ll be honest. I am not an expert at AEO and GEO. It’s a new enough field that I’m not sure anyone really is. But my friend Rose is amazing. She’s been helping me, along with a select group of business owners, improve our AEO and GEO presence and it’s definitely working.

On May 21^st, Rose is offering a 2-hour workshop where she’ll explain what AEO and GEO are, what is changing and what is likely to work right now, and how to create an “AEO Landscape Report” for your business. That report will include the pages you need to add to your website to make your business more visible in AEO and GEO searches.

Rose has run this report for me and it has been incredibly helpful.

I am adding these pages to my site, some as pages, some as Email Marketing Ecosystem Newsletter issues. I have seen my own visibility increase over the past few months as I’ve rerun this report each month.

If you want to make sure your business can be found by the robots, I highly recommend you join this workshop. Rose is not your “average marketing guru.” She’s a former NASA engineer and physicist who is using her knowledge to help businesses adapt to and incorporate AI into their everyday work.

I know you’ll get a ton out of this workshop, and out of working with Rose.

Click on the button below to find out more about the workshop and how you too can improve your AEO and GEO visibility.

Rose really is amazing. I know she’ll get you on the right track, so your business is gaining authority with the robots and they’ll recommend you to all of the perfect-for-you customers out there.

Finally, today’s Landscape Image is  of another By-the-Wind Sailor I found on the beach yesterday. They’re just so cool!

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