AEO - Answer Engine Optimisation
Search is changing, and businesses now need to be visible in both traditional search results and AI-generated answers
AEO Explained simply
What is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation.
Traditional SEO is about helping your website appear when someone searches Google for a keyword.
AEO is about helping your business appear when someone asks an AI a question.
For example, instead of someone searching:
“best real estate agent Melbourne”
They might now ask:
“Who are the best real estate agents in Melbourne for selling a family home?”
AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Search can then research information and provide an answer — often recommending businesses, products or services.
AEO helps make sure your business has the information AI needs to understand, trust and potentially recommend your business.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
Why is AEO needed?
The way people search for information is changing.
People are becoming less reliant on typing a few keywords into Google and clicking through multiple websites.
Instead, they are increasingly asking questions in everyday language and expecting an answer.
For example:
Traditional search:
“accountant Melbourne”
AI search:
“Who is a good accountant in Melbourne for a small business?”
Or:
“What should I look for when choosing an accountant for my business?”
Or:
“Can you recommend three accountants in Melbourne that specialise in small businesses?”
This means businesses need to make their website content clear, useful and easy for AI systems to understand.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
Are people actually using AI to find businesses?
Yes. There are now some strong Australian statistics from 2025–2026 showing that people are increasingly using AI to research businesses, products and services.
Are Australians actually using AI to find businesses?
75%
Use AI Search to help make purchasing decisions
WPP Media, 202661%
Discover brands they hadn’t previously considered through AI
WPP Media, 202658%
Use AI tools in an average four-week period
Roy Morgan, 202648%
Have used AI assistants to search for products online
PayPal / YouGov, 2025Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
Google Search is changing too
This is particularly important because AEO isn’t just about people going to ChatGPT.
Google itself is becoming an AI search engine.
Google now incorporates AI Overviews and AI Mode directly into Search. Rather than simply displaying a list of links, Google can generate an AI-powered response to a person’s question and provide links to supporting websites.
Google describes its newer Search experience as allowing people to ask questions in a more natural, conversational way.
In 2026, Google reported that AI Overviews had more than 2.5 billion monthly active users and AI Mode had surpassed 1 billion monthly users.
The simple way to explain this:
Old Google:
You search → Google gives you websites.
New Google:
You ask a question → Google may give you an AI-generated answer → with websites and sources behind it.
That means being number one for a keyword isn’t the only way a business can now be discovered.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
What does AEO actually involve?
AEO isn’t about stuffing a website with hundreds of keywords.
It’s about creating useful answers to the questions your customers are asking.
This can include:
- Frequently asked questions
- Question-based website content
- Clear explanations of products and services
- “How does…” content
- “What is…” content
- “Which is best…” content
- Comparisons
- Pricing and cost information
- Location and service information
- Information about the company’s experience and expertise
- Case studies and examples
- Information about the people behind the business
- Clear answers to common customer concerns
The objective is to make your business easy for both people and AI to understand.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
Why question-based content is important
People don’t always search using keywords anymore.
They ask questions.
For example, a plumber might traditionally target:
“plumber Melbourne”
But customers could ask AI:
“Who can fix a leaking hot water system in Melbourne?”
“How much does it cost to replace a hot water system?”
“What should I do if my hot water system stops working?”
“How long does a hot water system normally last?”
A business that has clear, authoritative answers to these questions gives AI much more useful information to work with.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
AEO + SEO
The easiest way to explain the relationship is:
SEO gets you found.
AEO helps you get recommended or referenced in answers.
And you don’t necessarily choose one over the other.
The best strategy is to do both.
Traditional SEO remains important because AI search still uses websites and other online sources to find information.
In fact, Google’s current AI Search continues to provide links to websites and original content within AI experiences.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
What makes a website AEO-friendly?
A good AEO website should:
1. Answer real customer questions
Don’t just talk about what the business does. Answer what customers actually want to know.
2. Be clear and easy to understand
Avoid unnecessarily complicated language.
3. Demonstrate expertise
Explain why the business is qualified to provide the service.
4. Provide specific information
AI needs facts, not just marketing statements.
5. Keep information up to date
Outdated information can make a business less useful and less trustworthy.
6. Clearly explain products and services
AI needs to understand exactly what the business offers.
7. Build trust and authority
Reviews, case studies, credentials, experience, media coverage and other reputable references can all help establish credibility.
8. Structure content around questions and answers
This makes information easier for both people and search systems to understand.
Do you want to speak to an AEO expert? Contact our friendly team to discuss
Why businesses should act now?
The earlier you prepare, the better
AI search is developing quickly. Google is actively changing its Search experience, while AI platforms are becoming another way people research products, services and businesses. Google’s AI Mode has already surpassed 1 billion monthly users globally, while AI Overviews has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users.
Businesses therefore shouldn’t wait until AI search becomes their primary source of traffic.
The opportunity is to start building useful, authoritative content now — while traditional SEO and AI search are operating alongside each other.