AI Search Optimization: A Plain-Language Guide to AEO and GEO

AI Search Optimization: A Plain-Language Guide to AEO and GEO

More people now ask AI assistants, or read AI-generated answers at the top of search results, instead of clicking through a list of links. "AI search optimization" is the work of making your business easy for those systems to find, understand and cite. You will see two terms:

• Answer engine optimization (AEO): structuring content so it directly answers questions.
• Generative engine optimization (GEO): improving the chance that AI-generated answers mention or cite your business.

They overlap heavily with good SEO. There is no secret switch.

Last reviewed: November 2026.

What you can control

1. Crawlable content. Important text should be in the page HTML, not only rendered by scripts after the page loads. If a crawler cannot read it, an assistant cannot use it.
2. Answer-first pages. Put the direct answer near the top, then the detail. Use headings that match real questions.
3. Consistent facts. Your name, location, services and prices should match across your site, Google Business Profile, directories and social profiles.
4. Structured data. Organization, local business, service, article and FAQ markup help machines read your facts reliably.
5. Clear entity signals. An About page that says who you are, where you are and what you do, linked to your real profiles.
6. Access for crawlers. Check that your robots.txt does not block the search and AI crawlers you want to reach you. Some sites also publish an llms.txt file that summarizes key pages for AI systems.
7. Original, specific content. Real prices, real processes and real examples are more useful to cite than generic advice.

What nobody can promise

• A guaranteed mention in any specific AI assistant.
• Stable results. AI answers change as models and sources change.
• Precise "share of voice" numbers. Visibility checks are samples of real questions, not a census.

How to check where you stand

Ask several assistants the questions your customers ask, such as "who builds websites for dentists in Edmonton", and note whether you are mentioned and what sources are cited. Repeat monthly. Pair it with Google Search Console data for traditional search.

How it fits with regular SEO

Most of the work is the same: a fast, crawlable site, clear pages per service, consistent business details and helpful content. AI search raises the value of clear answers and consistent facts.

How we help

We build sites that are readable by search engines and AI assistants, and our SEO work includes AI-search visibility checks. See SEO services in Edmonton and marketing plans.