What is AEO (answer engine optimization) for a local business?
By the Fullday team. Published
AEO, or answer engine optimization, is the work of making a local business easy for AI answers, like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews, to find, trust and quote. It builds on SEO: clear pages that answer real customer questions, consistent business details and real reviews. It takes weeks to months, and no one can promise a mention.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO aims to get your page listed in search results; AEO aims to get your business named or quoted inside the answer itself. The groundwork is shared: a site search engines can read, useful pages and a good local reputation. AEO puts more weight on short, direct answers to specific questions, written so one sentence makes sense on its own.
How do AI answers pick their sources?
They search the web, then cite pages that answer the question clearly. ChatGPT search, Perplexity and Google's AI features retrieve web pages for a question and link to the ones they used. A page that answers the exact question plainly, naming the service, the town and what it involves, gives them a sentence worth quoting.
Google says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations for AI Overviews or AI Mode: a page needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet in Search. So the fundamentals do the work, and nobody needs a secret trick for Google's AI answers.
What can a local business do?
Start with the questions you already answer on the phone every week, and make sure each one has a clear, findable answer on your own site.
- A page for each common question, answered in the first two sentences
- Services, towns, hours and prices in plain text, not only in images
- Search crawlers allowed in, including OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search
- The same name, address and phone number everywhere you're listed
- A complete Google Business Profile and honest reviews from every customer
- Mentions on other local sites, from trade groups to local news
How long does AEO take?
Weeks to months, with no promises. New pages have to be crawled and indexed, reviews and mentions build slowly, and AI answers change from one ask to the next. Track it by asking your customers' questions in each tool every few weeks, noting whether you're named and which pages get cited.
How does Fullday handle AEO?
The search agent in Fullday's Growth and Pro plans asks ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, records whether you're named and scores visibility from 0 to 100. Then it works through a task list: page titles and headings, answer pages, an FAQ page and Google Business Profile hours. Any change shows up over weeks, not days, and it doesn't promise mentions or rankings.
Sources
What Fullday sets up for this
- Search agent. Checks whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google name your business, and works through the fixes, on Growth and Pro.
- Website. A website that books, built for you on your own domain.
Plans start at $497 a month with a 7-day free trial, no contract. Ads and the search agent are on Growth, $1,497 a month.
A screen from the demo business. The people and numbers are sample data.
Related questions
Is AEO the same as GEO?
Close enough. GEO, generative engine optimization, is another name for being found and cited in AI-written answers. Some people use AEO more broadly, for any direct-answer result like featured snippets, but the work is the same.
Do I need special code or schema for AI answers?
Not for Google, which says AI Overviews and AI Mode need nothing beyond normal Search eligibility. Structured data that matches what's on the page is still good practice, but clear text answering real questions comes first.
Does AEO help with Google search too?
Yes, the groundwork overlaps. Google says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence, including reviews and how well known you are. Clear pages, accurate details and real reviews count in both places.
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