Google is no longer just a list of links. Increasingly, Google answers questions directly — through AI Overviews at the top of the page, featured snippets, and People Also Ask boxes. If your business is the source Google pulls that answer from, you get visibility that no amount of traditional ranking can match.
Answer Engine Optimisation — AEO — is the practice of structuring your content so that Google (and other answer engines) can extract your information and display it directly to searchers.
Where Answers Appear
Google AI Overviews. These appear on roughly 30% of searches and are growing. When they show, they push traditional results down the page. Being cited in an AI Overview means your business is shown before any organic result.
Featured snippets. The boxed answer at the top of Google, pulled directly from a webpage. If your page is the source, you get position zero — above even the first organic result.
People Also Ask. The expandable questions Google shows related to a search. Each answer is pulled from a webpage. Appearing here means extra visibility for your business.
Voice search. When someone asks Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa a question, the spoken answer typically comes from a featured snippet or AI Overview. AEO makes your business the one that gets read out loud.
How I Build for AEO
Direct answers in content. Every page on your website includes clear, concise answers to specific questions. Not buried in paragraphs — structured with clear headings that match the questions people ask.
FAQ schema on every page. Every FAQ section is marked up with structured data so Google can identify and extract question-answer pairs. This is how you get into People Also Ask boxes.
Content structure for extraction. Short paragraphs, clear definitions, numbered steps where appropriate. Google’s extraction algorithms favour content that is easy to parse and display in a box.
Authority signals. Google only pulls answers from sources it trusts. A complete Google Business Profile, strong reviews, proper schema markup, and consistent citations all build the trust that makes Google choose your page as the answer source.
AEO and GEO — Two Sides of the Same Coin
AEO focuses on Google’s own AI features. GEO focuses on third-party AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The techniques overlap heavily — structured content, schema markup, entity consistency. When I build a website, I optimise for both simultaneously.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does AEO stand for?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation. It focuses on making your content appear in Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and voice search results. See the full AEO explainer.
How is AEO different from regular SEO?
Regular SEO gets your page into the list of search results. AEO gets your content extracted and displayed as the answer — above the list. It requires specific content structuring, schema markup, and authority signals.
Can any page appear in a featured snippet?
In theory yes, but in practice Google favours pages that are well-structured, authoritative, and clearly answer a specific question. Pages with proper schema markup, strong domain authority, and clear content formatting have the best chance.
Does AEO work for local businesses?
Absolutely. Local questions like “how much does a plumber cost in Marbella” or “best restaurant near Puerto Banus” frequently trigger AI Overviews and People Also Ask boxes. Being the answer source for these queries drives highly targeted local traffic.
Do I need to change my existing content for AEO?
Often, reformatting existing content is enough — adding clear question-and-answer structures, concise definitions, and proper heading hierarchy. In some cases, new content targeting specific questions is needed.