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1Introduction: What is AEO?
Over a three month period, New Breed conducted a full AI Engine Optimization (AEO) audit across our website, content ecosystem, and distribution channels. The goal wasn’t to chase a trend; it was to understand, at an execution level, how AI-driven discovery is already reshaping how buyers find, evaluate, and choose vendors.
This guide shares what we learned, what worked, what didn't, and how other teams can apply those lessons without starting from scratch.
We're not approaching AEO as a theory or an experimental side project. We're approaching it as the next evolution of inbound, SEO, and Revops alignment: one that requires new success metrics, new content structures, and new operational discipline.
What is AI Engine Optimization?
AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of optimizing your brand, content, and digital presence so it can be accurately understood, trusted, and cited by AI-powered engines.
These include:
- Google AI Overviews
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Perplexity
- Claude, and other large language model (LLM) interfaces
Unlike traditional SEO, which is focused on rankings and click-through behavior, AEO is focused on answer inclusion.
If SEO helps your website rank, AEO helps your brand become the answer.
In practice, AEO ensures that:
- Your content is machine-readable, not just human-readable
- Your expertise is summarized correctly, not paraphrased inaccurately
- Your brand is cited alongside, or instead of, competitors in AI-generated responses
Brands are no longer moving linearly from search → website → conversion. Many are completing the majority of their research before ever visiting a vendor's site.
Frequently Asked Questions: AEO Fundamentals
What is AI Engine Optimization?
AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content, technical signals, and brand authority so AI-powered answer engines can accurately understand, summarize, and cite a company's expertise in AI-generated responses.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO focuses. on improving rankings and click-through rates in traditional search engines. AEO focuses on ensuring a brand's content is included and cited within AI-generated answers, even when users do not click through a website.
Which platforms does AEO apply to?
AEO applies to AI-powered answer engines like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and other large language model interfaces that generate summarized responses to user prompts.
Why AI-Generated Answers Change Discovery
AI systems don't "rank" content the way search engines do. They synthesize it.
They pull from multiple sources, identify consensus, assess authority, and generate a single response — often without sending the user anywhere else. This fundamentally changes how visibility works,
Research consistently shows:
- A majority of buyers rely on AI summaries for research at least of the time (Bain)
- Click-through rates decline sharply when AI answers are present (Seer Interactive)
- Brands that are cited inside AI answers perform meaningfully better than those that aren't
"How do we rank" to "Are we included in the answer?"
That shift is why traditional SEO tactics, and the metrics used to measure them, are no longer sufficient on their own.
Why AEO Matters Today
Buyer behavior has already changed—faster than most teams realize.
From our research, webinars, and client conversations:
- Buyers increasingly use generative AI and traditional search in parallel with 40% of B2B buyers using both equally (Responsive)
- Market research and vendor discovery remain the most time-consuming stages of the buying process
- AI tools are now used for awareness, as well as comparison, validation, and shortlisting
We describe this shift simply: people are no longer searching — they're prompting.
That change creates both risk and opportunity:
-
Brands that aren't optimized for AI answers become invisible earlier in the journey
- Brands that are cited consistently earn trust before sales every gets involved
The New Breed POV on AEO
At New Breed, we don't see AEO as a replacement for SEO.
We see it as:
- SEO + structured clarity
- Inbound + AI-first discovery
- RevOps alignment across content, demand, and trust
AEO forces teams to answer harder questions:
- Which pages actually drive revenue?
- Which questions do buyers ask before they talk to sales?
- Where does trust get established — and lost —before conversion?
Those questions shape everything that follows in this guide.
Frequently Asked Questions: AEO vs SEO
Is AEO replacing SEO?
No. AEO does not replace SEO. SEO ensures content is discoverable, while AEO ensures that content is interpretable, trustworthy, and citable by AI systems. The strongest strategies use SEO and AEO together.
Can strong SEO performance help AEO?
Yes. Crawlability, site health, and authority built through SEO provide a foundation for AEO. However, SEO alone does not guarantee inclusion in AI-generated answers without structured clarity and explicit explanations.
2Understanding the AEO Landscape
How Answer Engines Source and Synthesize Content
AI answer engines ingest content differently than search engines. They prioritize sources that are:
- Clearly structured
- Explicit in definitions and explanations
- Consistent across multiple authoritative mentions
Rather than rewarding clever copy or keyword density, AI systems favor:
- Plain, declarative language
- Step-by-step explanations
- Content that mirrors how humans ask question
This is why long-form ungated resources, like guides, definitions, and how-to content, consistently outperform lang pages in AI visibility.
Key Signals AI Systems Look For
Authority
Consistent expertise across owned and third-party sources.
Clarity
Content that can be summarized without losing meaning.
Structured Content
Headings, FAQs, lists, and schema that reinforce semantic relationships.
Freshness
Updated explanations and current framing, not static thought leadership.
These signals overlap with SEO, but the reason they matter is different. In AEO, structure isn't about ranking; it's about interpretation.
The Impact on the Buyer's Journey
As AI answers compress information:
- Buyer expect summarized, opinion-free explanations
- Trust is established earlier — or not at all
This raises the bar for specificity. Vague positioning and marketing language don't survive synthesis. Clear answers do.
Frequently Asked Questions: How AI Engines Work
How do AI answer engines choose what content to cite?
AI answer engines synthesize content from multiple sources and prioritize information that is clearly structured, explicit in meaning, consistently reinforced across credible sources, and easy to summarize accurately.
Why doesn't marketing language perform well in AI answers?
Marketing language is often vague, subjective, or metaphor-driven. AI systems favor declarative, factual, and clearly structured explanations that can be summarized without interpretation.
3Core Pillars of AEO
The Three Pillars of AEO
Through our AEO audit and execution work, one thing became clear quickly: AI Engine Optimization is not a single tactic or channel. It's a system.
At New Breed, we break AEO into three core pillars:
These pillars mirror how AI systems actually evaluate, interpret, and cite content, and they give teams a practical way to sequence work instead of trying to "do everything"
4Pillar 1: On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization is where most AEO gains are realized and where most teams underestimate the work required.
AI systems don't reward creativity or clever positioning. They reward clarity, completeness, and structure.
What On-Page AEO Actually Means
AEO-ready pages share a few consistent traits:
- They clearly define what the page is about, early
- They answer common buyer questions explicitly
- They use structured elements that are easy to extract and summarize
- They align content depth with buyer intent
This applies most strongly to:
- Core service pages
- High-intent solution pages
- Pillar pages and long-form guides
- Comparison and "how it works" content
Not every page deserves this level of effort. Prioritization matters (we cover that in Chapter 7).
AEO Content Elements to Add
Clear Definitions
Every page should explicitly define:
- The concept or service being discussed
- Who it's for
- What problem it solves
If a human can't summarize the page in one sentence, an AI system won't.
Key Takeaway Sections
We added short "Key Takeaways" or summary blocks to priority pages (like at the top of this guide). These:
- Reinforce the core message
- Give AI systems a clean extraction point
- Improve human skimmability without dumbing the content
FAQ Blocks Based on Real Questions
The most effective FAQs didn't come from keyword tools. They came from:
- Sales Calls
- Prospect objections
- Inbound conversations
- Webinar Q&A
If buyers ask it out loud, AI systems are likely being prompted with it.
Step by Step Explanations
Whenever a page describes a process, framework, or methodology:
- Break into numbered steps
- Use consistent phrasing/li>
- Avoid metaphors or brand language
This dramatically improves citation accuracy.
Entity-Rich Language
Instead of relying on implied meaning:
- Name tools, platforms, frameworks, and concepts directly
- Be explicit about relationships between entities
This helps AI systems connect your brand to specific topics.
Headings, Metadata, and Structure
For AEO, headings are not design elements, they're semantic signals.
Best practices:
- One clear H1 per page
- Logical H2 → H3 hierarchy
- Headings that describe outcomes, not slogans
- No skipped levels
Metadata still matters, but less for clicks and more for classification. Titles and descriptions should reinforce what the page is, not just why it's compelling.
5Pillar 2: Technical Signals
Technical optimization is the foundation of AEO. It is also the fastest place to see early gains when issues exist.
In our experience, teams often want to start with content. But if AI systems can't reliably crawl, index, and parse your site, content improvements won't matter.
Core Technical Requirements for AEO
Crawlability and Indexation
Keep things neat and tidy:
- Clean URLs
- No accidental noindex tags
- Minimal JavaScript rendering dependencies
If AI crawlers can't access your content, they can't cite it.
Structured Data and Schema
Schema helps AI systems understand:
- What type of content this is
- How different sections relate
- Where definitions and FAQs exist
While schema started as an SEO enhancement, its role in AEO is interpretation, no SERP.
Performance and Accessibility
Slow-loading or inaccessible pages introduce friction for both users and AI crawlers. Pages that time out or render inconsistently are less likely to be referenced.
Content Consistency
Conflicting definitions, outdated explanations, or duplicated content across the site reduce trust signals. AEO favors consistency over volume
Interested in a more in-depth dive into technical signals to maximize your company's AI Visibility? Watch our Building an AI-Optimized Website: The Technical Essentials webinar.
Content Hubs and Pillars
Long-form pillar pages, like this guide, play a dual role:
- They establish topical authority
- They act as a central reference point AI systems can summarize
Well-structured hubs outperform scattered blog content in AI visibility.
6Pillar 3: Off-Page Optimization
Off-page AEO is about entity reinforcement, not backlinks alone.
AI systems validate information by cross-referencing sources. The more consistently your brand is mentioned, with aligned context, the more likely to be trusted.
High-Impact Off-Page Channels
Video and YouTube
Video content is frequently surfaced by AI systems, especially Google's AI overview.
Key optimizations:
- Upload full transcripts
- Use descriptive titles and chapters
- Avoid vague descriptions
Existing webinars are often the fastest AEO wins when repurposed correctly.
Third-Party Mentions
AI systems frequently cite:
- Industry publications
- Community platforms (like Reddit, Quora)
- Review and comparison sites
- Structured knowledge sources (e.g., Wikipedia, Wikidata)
The goal is contribution, not promotion. Helpful, non-sales content performs best.
Thought Leadership Signals
Consistent expertise across:
- Webinars
- Articles
- Panels
- Partnerships
builds credibility that AI systems recognize over time.
7AEO Audit & Execution Playbook
What to Review, What to Fix, What to Do First
Most teams don't fail at AEO because they lack tactics. They fail, or are hesitant to invest, because they don't know where to start or where not to spend time.
This playbook reflects how we actually implemented AEO at New Breed.
How to Execute an AEO Audit
1
Step 1: Identify Priority Pages
Not every page deserves AEO investment. We prioritized:
- Revenue impact
- Buyer intent
- Strategic importance
Low-revenue or low-demand pages were deprioritized intentionally. AEO requires focus.
Ask: If this page were cited by AI tomorrow, would it materially impact pipeline?
If not, move on.
2
Step 2: Review Content Quality and Structure
For each priority page, assess:
- Is the purpose clear within the first section?
- Does the page explicitly answer buyer questions?
- Are definitions and frameworks spelled out?
- Can the content be summarized without interpretation?
Pages that relied on clever positioning or vague language consistently underperformed.
3
Step 3: Apply an AEO Checklist
Each priority page should be evaluated against:
- Clear definition present
- Logical heading structure
- FAQ or Q&A section included
- Summary or key takeaway block at top of page (below header, before body copy)
- Entity clarity (tools, platforms, concepts named)
- Updated within the last 6–12 months
This becomes your content readiness score.
4
Step 4: Prioritize by Effort vs. Impact
We categorize work into:
- Quick wins: Small edits with immediate visibility gains
- Structural updates: Higher effort, long-term payoff
This prevented the team from stalling on “perfect” solutions.
What You Actually Need To Do
Quick Wins (Fastest Path to Impact)
- Add FAQ blocks top-performing pages
- Insert key takeaway sections
- Refresh outdated explanations
- Upload and optimize video transcripts
- Reformat existing blogs for clarity and structure
These changes often delivered visibility improvements within weeks, not months.
Bigger Initiatives (Longer-Term)
- Rebuild pillar pages into clean content hubs
- Create missing bottom-funnel content (definitions, comparisons, how-tos)
- Re-optimize webinars, events, and product content
- Embed AEO into editorial and content work flows
AEO is not a one-time project. It's a capability.
Frequently Asked Questions: AEO Execution
What type of pages should be prioritized for AEO?
Pages with high buyer intent, revenue impact, or strategic importance should be prioritized first. Not every page requires AEO optimization.
What are quick wins for improving AEO?
Quick wins include FAQ sections (like this one), inserting summary or key takeaways blocks, refreshing outdated explanations, uploading optimizing video transcripts, and improving heading structure.
8Measuring AEO Performance: What to Track (and Why)
AEO measurement looks different from traditional SEO. You're not just tracking rankings or clicks; you're measuring whether AI systems recognize, trust, and select your brand when answering real buyer questions.
Four Core AEO Metrics to Track Performance
1
Brand Presence
Brand presence measures how often your brand or product is mentioned when AI models generate answers to a define set of prompts (e.g., "best CRM for mid-market companies," "HubSpot alternatives," or "how to measure AEO").
It's the clearest signal of whether your brand is positioned as a primary answer inside AI-generated responses—even when no click occurs.
2
Citations
Citations are the external soruces an AI model references when generating an answer. In many AI experiences, citations act as the trust layer that validates an output and signals authority.
Tracking citations helps you understand whether your content is shaping how the model explains a topic—not just whether your brand name appears.
In AEO, citations function like the new backlinks, influencing Ai-generated answers directly rather than traditional rankings.
3
LLM Referral Traffic
LLM referral traffic measures human website visits that originate from AI-powered search and answer engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Microsoft Co-Pilot.
While not all AI interactions result in clicks, this traffic is often high-intent and late-stage, coming from users who have already synthesized information and are seeking validation or next steps.
AEO isn't just about visibility—it's about attracting the right traffic, even at lower volumes.
4
Agent Traffic
Agent traffic captures visits from AI retrieval bots that crawl your site to retrieve information on behalf of a user's prompt. These bots are not human, but they influence what answers humans see.
Tracking agents actively helps you understand how often and how deeply your content is being evaluated by AI systems.
If SEO is about optimizing for crawlers, AEO is about optimizing for reasoning systems.
Understanding what to measure is only half the equation. Measuring AEO performance in practice requires monitoring how AI systems interpret, reference, and surface your content across real buyer prompts.
That's why most teams operationalize these metrics through an AEO dashboard that tracks visibility, authority, and influence across AI-generated answers.
Explore how AEO metrics are tracked in practice.
Bringing It All Together
Individually, these metrics tell partial stories. Together, they reveal whether your brand is being recognized, trusted, and surfaces as a meaningful answer across AI-powered discovery.
They help teams answer the most important AEO questions:
- Do AI models recognize and include our brand?
- Do they trust our content enough to cite it?
- Does that visibility translate into qualified traffic and revenue?
- Are we being evaluated by the AI systems that influence our buyers?
A mature AEO measurement strategy doesn't chase a single signal. It tracks visibility, authority, engagement, and influence across the full AI discovery lifecycle.
Frequently Asked Questions: Measuring AI Visibility
How do you measure AEO success?
AEO success is measured by visibility and AI citations in AI-generated answers, competitiveness presence, changes in engagement and conversion rates, and video visibility trends. These metrics complement traditional SEO dashboards.
Are there tools that track AI visibility?
Yes. Emerging tools provide insights into AI visibility, citations, and prompt-level presence. These tools, like Scrunch and Profound, help teams understand how often and where their content appears in AI-generated responses.
Where AI Discovery is Headed
AI-generated answers will continue to collapse the distance between discovery and decision. As models become more confident and more embedded in daily workflows, fewer buyers will start with open-ended search, and more will rely on synthesized answers as their default entry point.
This shift will widen the gap between brands that are consistently included in AI answers and those that aren't. Visibility will no longer be evenly distributed across a results page; it will concentrate around a smaller set of trusted sources.
In this environment, AEO becomes less about experimentation and more about readiness. The companies that invest early in structured content, measurable AI visibility, and continuous optimization will shape how AI systems explain their category—not just how they're discovered within it.
The teams winning AI visibility are investing early in structured content, measurement, and continuous optimization. If you want help translating this framework into an executable AEO strategy. Let's talk.
See how New Breed Helps team operationalize AEO starting with an AEO assessment.
