What Is how ai search engines work?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring your content so that AI-powered search engines — like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — can extract, trust, and cite it as a direct answer. Unlike traditional SEO which focuses on blue-link rankings, AEO focuses on being the source that AI systems quote.
Why It Matters in 2026
Over 30% of Google searches now trigger an AI Overview instead of traditional results. ChatGPT handles more than 100 million queries daily. If your content isn't structured for AI citation, you're invisible to a growing portion of search traffic — even if you rank #1 in traditional results.
Key Principles
AEO relies on three pillars: (1) Clear, direct answers to specific questions. (2) Structured data and schema markup that machines can parse. (3) E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) that AI systems use to validate sources.
How to Get Started
Start by auditing your highest-traffic pages for answer-readiness. Use a tool like OptiAISEO to identify which content is missing structured data, FAQ schema, or direct answer formatting. Then prioritise fixes by traffic and competitive gap.