AEO is structuring content so ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Claude cite it. Key levers: FAQ schema, named authors, clean source citations, definition blocks, TL;DRs.
AEO checklist
- FAQ schema on service and niche pages - Named author bylines with credentials - TL;DR + definition blocks - JSON-LD BlogPosting, DefinedTerm, Article - Citations with publication and year - llms.txt at site root
Why it matters
15-35% of US search queries now trigger AI Overviews; UK is trending similarly. Mentions in AI answers drive branded search, which compounds.