Answer engine optimization in plain English, with real results to show for it.
AEO, or answer engine optimization, is the work of getting your business named in the answers AI tools give, like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. SEO gets you ranked in a list of links. AEO gets you recommended by name when someone asks an AI who to hire.
Answer engine optimization means shaping your website and your business information so AI tools can read it, trust it and quote it. That means pages that answer real customer questions directly, business facts stated in plain text, and structured data a machine can parse. When a homeowner asks which pest control company to call, the AI looks for the clearest, most credible answer. AEO makes that answer you.
GEO, or generative engine optimization, is another name for the same idea. You hear it more when people talk about ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, along with AI search optimization and LLM optimization. The labels keep changing. The work does not: be the most complete, best-sourced answer in your market, written so an AI can use it.
No one outside these companies knows exactly how their AI picks a business, and anyone who guarantees a result is guessing. These five steps are what we do, and what we have seen work.
AI tools lean on what already ranks and on what other sites say about you. A fast website, solid local SEO and a complete Google Business Profile come first.
Write pages that give the direct answer first, then the detail. A clear answer to a real question is the format AI tools quote. Keyword filler is the format they skip.
Name, services, service area, credentials, phone and hours, in plain text and in structured data, and the same everywhere they appear: your site, your Google Business Profile and your directory listings.
Reviews, directory listings and other sites that mention you give AI tools outside confirmation that you are who you say you are.
Ask ChatGPT the questions your customers ask, logged out, and record whether you are named. That is how we confirmed Purple Frog Pools and Laser & Aesthetic Center in the first spot.
AEO does not replace SEO. It sits on top of it, because AI tools draw heavily on what already ranks. A business that ranks well and answers clearly is the one both tend to pick.
Moxi's AI search work has made Laser & Aesthetic Center the first business ChatGPT lists for laser hair removal in Jacksonville, made Purple Frog Pools the first for “pool company aledo tx,” and put Avant Construction Group first in two Google AI Overviews.
#1
listed first on ChatGPT for laser hair removal in Jacksonville
14
starting prices in the site's mega menu
43
average leads per month from Google Ads
$60
average cost per lead
“Gab is amazing! She’s very informative about the process and caters each treatment to your skin and hair type. I can’t recommend this place enough!”
#1
listed first on ChatGPT for “pool company aledo tx”, logged out
106
Local Services leads in 90 days
96%
top-of-page rate on Local Services Ads
$77
average cost per charged lead
“The absolute best company I've ever worked with! Honest pricing and great service. They actually educate you about your pool and will teach you/help you as much as possible vs. only wanting to make money by getting your service.”
2
Google AI Overviews citing the site first, historic and adaptive reuse
#1
on Google for “historical construction jacksonville”
#1
for “historic restoration contractor” near Jacksonville
43
projects in a filterable online portfolio
The questions business owners ask us most about AI search, answered straight.
AEO stands for answer engine optimization. An answer engine is any tool that answers a question directly instead of handing you a list of links: ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews at the top of a search. AEO is the work of being the business those tools name.
For a local business, yes. GEO means generative engine optimization, and it describes the same goal: getting cited in answers written by AI. Some people use GEO for ChatGPT-style tools and AEO for answer boxes, but the work behind both is the same.
Start with strong local SEO and a complete Google Business Profile, then publish pages that answer customer questions directly, state your business facts plainly with structured data, and earn reviews and mentions on other sites. Then check it logged out. No one outside these companies knows exactly how they choose, so be wary of anyone who guarantees a result.
SEO earns you a spot in a list of results. AEO earns you a mention inside the answer itself, where there is often only one recommendation. AEO does not replace SEO. It sits on top of it, because AI tools draw heavily on what already ranks.
Yes. Purple Frog Pools is a pool service company in Aledo, Texas, and ChatGPT lists it first for “pool company aledo tx.” Laser & Aesthetic Center, a Jacksonville med spa, is listed first for laser hair removal in Jacksonville. Local questions are specific, and specific questions reward the business that answers them clearly.
Tell us about your business and we'll show you where you stand in AI search today.