Answer engine optimization services
Stage: Be foundAnswer engine optimization
When buyers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews who to choose, we make your brand the answer they name and the source they cite.
Free AI SEO audit. See in seconds whether AI search can read, understand and quote your site.
Works across
ChatGPT
Which HR software is best for a 300-person company?For a company your size, Your brand comes up most often, praised for fast setup, clear pricing and support that answers within the day. 11 yourbrand.com/payroll-guide2 g2.com3 reddit.com
MentionedYesCited as source#1SentimentPositive
"Your brand" is you.Trusted by partner brands
Why it matters now
A ranking is not a recommendation
Buyers ask an assistant for a shortlist before they open a single search result. If the answer names three brands and you're not one of them, your rankings never get a chance.
25%drop in search engine volume Gartner predicted by 2026, as people move to AI assistantsGartner, Feb 2024
How buyers searchedThen
Query10 linksClickYour site
A good ranking meant a visit. You got the chance to make your case.How buyers search nowNow
QuestionAI answer3 brands namedEnquiry
The shortlist is made before anyone visits a website. If you're not named, you're not considered.What’s included
The anatomy of a page AI will quote
Six things we build into your site and beyond it. Select each one to see where it lives.
How we do it
Five steps, one owner
Part of your first 90 days. Every step has a date, an owner and something you can see.
Week 1 to 2Strategy and intent mappingAgree goals, markets and the buyer questions that matter most.You get your top 50 buyer questions
Week 2 to 3AI visibility auditRun those questions through each engine and see who gets named and why.You get a baseline by engine
Week 3 to 6Content and source planFind the gaps, rewrite key pages answer-first and pick the sources to win.You get a prioritized roadmap
Week 4 to 12Optimize and executeShip content, schema and technical fixes, and earn citations on trusted sites.You get weekly shipped work
Every weekMeasure and iterateTrack mentions and citations, re-measure every change and double down on what works.You get a Monday report in Surface
Tools we work in
Search Console
Analytics 4
surfaceby dau
Search ConsoleAnalytics 4surfaceby dauWhere answers come from
Most of what AI says about you isn't on your site
AI answers pull from reviews, forums and publications as much as from brand websites. So we work on both: your pages, and the places that talk about you.
31%24%19%16%10%
Review sitesG2, Capterra, Trustpilot and industry directoriesForums and communitiesReddit, Quora and niche communitiesPublicationsNews, trade press and "best of" listsBrand websitesYour pages, and your competitors'Video and otherYouTube, docs and everything else
Share of citations by source type, from a sample Surface audit of 50 B2B software questions.How we measure it
Every week, in Surface
We run your buyers' real questions through each AI engine and track whether you're named, cited and recommended, against the competitors you lose to. You see it in Surface by dau and in your Monday email.
6AI engines tracked50+buyer questions, every weekDailychecks, reported weekly
- Mention rate by engine
- Citation rate by engine
- Share of voice against named competitors
- Enquiries from AI assistants in your analytics
surfaceAI answersSampleMention rate, all engines17%▲ 11 pp in 12 weeksEngineMentionedCitedTrendAI Overviews20.4%6.4%ChatGPT18.8%3.9%Gemini17.2%5.1%Perplexity16.1%9.8%Claude12.0%2.7%Copilot8.9%2.1%
AI Overviews20.4%6.4%ChatGPT18.8%3.9%Gemini17.2%5.1%Perplexity16.1%9.8%Claude12.0%2.7%Copilot8.9%2.1%Your options
Four ways to buy AEO
Build it in-house, buy a tool, hire a specialist, or run it with your search partner.
One team, no handoffs
AEO works best with the rest of search
The same team runs every service that feeds AI answers, so nothing waits on another vendor.
AEOyou are hereSearch everywhere optimizationOne plan across Google, AI answers and MapsSEO and enterprise SEORankings for questions that lead to revenueGenerative engine optimizationContent AI models pick up and quoteGoogle Business ProfileWin the map pack in every locationTechnical SEOFast, crawlable pages search and AI can readOnline reputationReviews that win the comparison
A closer look
SEO, AEO and GEO, side by side
An answer engine is any system that replies with an answer instead of a list of links: Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, voice assistants, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. AEO makes your content the answer they pick.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank pages in search results | Be the direct answer | Be named and cited by AI assistants |
| Where it shows | Google and Bing results | Featured snippets, People Also Ask, AI Overviews, voice | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot |
| What wins | Relevance, links, technical health | Short, direct answers in a clear structure, with schema | Clear entity facts, citations on trusted third-party sites |
| How it is measured | Rankings, clicks | Answer boxes won, AI Overview citations | Share of answers that name you, citation share |
What AEO work covers
- Question research from People Also Ask, AI prompts, site search and sales calls
- Answer-first pages: the answer in the first two sentences, detail after
- FAQ, HowTo, Organization and Product schema where it fits
- One consistent set of facts across your site, Wikipedia, portals and Google Business Profile
- Citations on the third-party sites AI assistants already trust in your category
- Tracking which answers name you, across Google and the main assistants
Where AEO pays off first
Questions with one clear answer: definitions, comparisons, costs, eligibility, how-to steps and "best X for Y". These are the searches where an AI answer or a snippet now takes most of the attention before anyone scrolls.
How to tell if you need it
- Your pages rank, but AI Overviews or snippets answer the question without you
- AI assistants describe your brand with old or wrong facts
- Competitors get named in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers and you do not
Questions
What people ask about AEO
What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
AEO is the work of making your brand the answer AI assistants and search features give. It covers the questions buyers ask, the content and sources engines trust, and tracking whether you're named and cited.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO earns rankings. AEO earns mentions and citations inside answers. A good ranking helps, but it doesn't guarantee an AI engine will name you, so we run both together.
Which AI engines do you cover?
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot. We track each one separately because they trust different sources.
How do you measure AEO results?
Mention rate, citation rate and share of voice against named competitors, plus enquiries from AI assistants in your analytics. You see it weekly in Surface by dau.
How long until we see results?
Quick fixes like schema and answer-first rewrites can show up within weeks. Winning citations on trusted sources usually takes one to three months.
Does AEO work alongside GEO and SEO?
Yes. They share the same foundation, so one team running all three avoids duplicated work and mixed messages.
How much does AEO cost?
It depends on how many topics and markets you need to cover. We scope it after a free AI visibility check, so the plan matches the questions that matter to you.
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO makes your content the direct answer in search features and AI Overviews. GEO makes AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity name and cite your brand. We usually run them together.
Do we still need SEO if we invest in AEO?
Yes. AI answers lean on pages that already rank and are easy to crawl. AEO builds on strong SEO; it does not replace it.
Which pages should we optimize first for AEO?
Pages that answer one clear question: definitions, comparisons, costs, eligibility, how-to steps and 'best X for Y'. They win answer boxes fastest.
Can AEO fix wrong facts AI assistants say about us?
Often, yes. We correct the sources AI reads most, starting with your own pages, Wikipedia, portals and listings, and then track whether the answers change.
Does schema markup help AEO?
Schema helps search engines read your facts and can make you eligible for rich results. It works best with clear, answer-first writing on the page.
The full guide · 8 min readYour AI answer strategy starts with answer engine optimization
If your content isn't showing up inside ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews or Perplexity, a growing share of buyers never sees you. This guide covers what AEO is, what's included, how to track it and how to choose a partner.
Read the guide- 01What is AI answer engine optimization?
- 02What's included in AEO services
- 03Tracking AI answer visibility
- 04AEO tools and services, compared
See where AI names you
We'll run your buyers' top questions through every major AI engine and show you who gets named, who gets cited and what we'd fix first.