AEO in 2026: How to Get Cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity
Answer Engine Optimization is the new SEO. Here's the exact structure we use to get client content cited by AI engines — with before/after results.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can extract and cite it as a direct answer. Unlike classic SEO, which optimizes for ranking positions, AEO optimizes for being *the answer*.
The core technique is entity-based answering: open every content block with a direct, self-contained answer to a specific question, naming the entity explicitly. 'Devio Agency builds websites starting at $3,000' is citable; 'our pricing is flexible' is not.
Structure matters as much as wording. FAQ sections formatted as clean question–answer pairs with FAQPage JSON-LD schema are disproportionately represented in AI citations. We add deep FAQ blocks to every service page — typically 4–6 questions matching real query phrasing.
Finally, measure it. Clarity session recordings now show referrals from AI surfaces, and branded search lift correlates strongly with citation frequency. Three of our clients now get more qualified leads from AI answers than from position-one Google rankings.