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Field notes · Tier 4

Getting Cited by AI Search: AEO and GEO for Founders

Answer engine optimization, or AEO, is about getting your content quoted by AI search tools when someone asks a question, not just ranked on a list of blue links. As more people ask AI assistants directly, being the source it cites is the new front page.

ContentSEO

The shift is simple to grasp. Old SEO aimed to win a click. AEO and the related idea of generative engine optimization, or GEO, aim to be the answer the AI reads back. That changes how you write.

What helps: structure content around real questions, lead each section with a clear, direct answer in the first line or two, keep the language plain, and add structured data so machines understand what your page is. Short, confident answers get pulled. Rambling ones get skipped.

We build this into client content from the start, because for an AI-first brand it would be strange not to. The goal is no longer only to rank. It is to be the thing the answer engine trusts enough to quote.

Want this for your business?