AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the practice of getting a brand cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers — ChatGPT, Gemini, Rufus — rather than only ranking in Google or Amazon's A9/Cosmo search results.
AI assistants reportedly decide what to recommend by scanning for brand-authority statements, mentions across 10+ credible sites, superlatives ("most cited," "leading"), and source credibility (major media outranks Reddit, though Reddit/Quora presence still feeds citations). Most-cited-source mixes vary by engine: ChatGPT leans on earned media (~40%) and DTC/marketplace listings (~23%); Walmart's Sparky and Rufus lean even more heavily on earned media and affiliate review sites.
Tactics: fast-turnaround press releases and earned media placements, a Reddit posting SOP, guest posts and comparison-site listings, FAQ/glossary/comparison-chart content, schema markup and product cards, an llms.txt file, and an LLM-oriented sitemap — plus AI-specific keyword-rank tracking to measure progress the way rank trackers measure Google SEO.
A citation gap exists: ranking well on Google doesn't guarantee AI citation, so AEO is treated as a separate workstream from conventional SEO. AEO also has a ceiling — it can shape a narrative but can't override facts major media has already established about a brand (country of origin, controversies). AI is reportedly easier to influence in categories where it has less built-in knowledge, which favors niche/private-label products over well-known mainstream brands.