Getting cited by AI answers
AEO (answer engine optimization), also called AI visibility or GEO, is the practice of structuring content so AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews cite your business when people ask. It uses clear answers, entities, and structured data.
Why it matters. People increasingly ask AI instead of scrolling Google. If your site is structured so AI engines can understand and quote it, you get recommended in those answers , a channel most competitors haven’t optimised for yet.
AEO (answer engine optimization), also called AI visibility or GEO, is the practice of structuring content so AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews mention and cite your business in their answers. It builds on traditional and local SEO using clear factual writing, schema markup, and trusted third-party mentions.
A Winter Park med spa noticed that when locals asked ChatGPT “where can I get Botox near Park Avenue,” competitors got named and they didn’t. Their AEO fix was concrete: they rewrote service pages to answer the real question in the first sentence (“Botox in Winter Park starts at $12 per unit”), added FAQ and LocalBusiness schema, and earned mentions on a few trusted Orlando directories and review sites. Within a couple of months they started appearing in Google AI Overviews and Perplexity answers for “med spa near Winter Park,” because the models could finally find a clear, quotable, attributed answer to pull from.
Why it matters: a growing share of searches now end inside an AI-generated answer instead of a list of blue links, so the question shifts from “do we rank #1” to “does the AI mention us at all.” If ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google’s AI Overview names three Central Florida competitors and skips you, you are invisible at the exact moment a buyer is deciding , and you never even see the lost click in your analytics.
How it is measured: AEO has no single rank number, so you track it by prompting. Ask the real questions your customers ask (“best HVAC repair in Kissimmee,” “Orlando personal injury lawyer near me”) across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, then log how often you are mentioned, whether you are cited with a link, and how accurately you are described. Run the same prompts monthly to watch the trend move.
Common mistakes and the local SEO link: the biggest mistake is writing fluffy marketing copy instead of plain, factual answers , models quote the page that states the fact directly, with prices, hours, service areas, and named cities. AEO is not separate from local SEO; it is built on the same foundation. A consistent NAP (name, address & phone), a complete Google Business Profile, real reviews, and valid schema markup are the trust signals that make an AI confident enough to cite you in the first place.
See how we put this to work for Central Florida businesses , and book a free consultation.
We’ll show you exactly where you’re invisible , free.