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Service · AEO & GEO · Last updated: July 2026

Getting found when nobody googles any more.

More and more questions are answered directly – by ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews, without a single click on a website. AEO and GEO improve the conditions for your content to be considered as a source. We structure your website so that machines understand it and people trust it.

Arrange a call Self-test: is my website visible to AI?
  • Built on solid SEO
  • schema.org & structured data
  • Honest advice instead of hype
how long does sourdough bread keep
  • your-bakery.at Storing bread properly – tips from the bakery

    Stored properly, sourdough bread stays fresh for days. We show you…

  • chefkoch.de What is the best way to store bread? – Forum

    23 replies – I always just put mine in the bread bin…

  • wikipedia.org Sourdough – Wikipedia

    Sourdough is a dough used to make baked goods…

how long does sourdough bread keep
AI answer

How long sourdough stays fresh depends on its recipe and storage. This example bakery therefore explains how its own loaf should be stored at home.

your-bakery.at

The demo shows one possible answer with a linked source. The sources a real system selects vary by query and system.

Illustrative demo: the same question, two search experiences. The demo shows why clear, well-supported answers matter when a system selects possible sources.

At a glance

The short answer first

Exactly how we would do it for your website too: the answer first, then the details.

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization

Optimisation for answer systems: featured snippets, voice assistants, “position 0” on Google

GEO

Generative Engine Optimization

Optimisation for generative AI: prepare content as a clear, verifiable and machine-readable possible source

Basis

SEO stays

AEO and GEO do not replace SEO – they build on clean technology and good content

Result

Suitable as a source

Your website becomes easier for answer systems to assess, classify and potentially use as a source

In one sentence: AEO & GEO prepare website content clearly, structurally and with evidence so search and answer systems can assess it and potentially use it as a source more easily.

Explained simply

Two terms, one goal: appearing in the answer

No jargon needed – here is how AEO and GEO work, explained with an example we know well: bread.

AEO · Answer Engine Optimization

The direct answer in search

For some questions, search engines show a concise answer directly in the results. AEO helps systems recognise a self-contained answer passage: a precise question as the heading, a clear short answer and sound semantic structure. The system still decides whether this becomes a snippet or spoken answer.

Put simply

Someone asks: “How long does sourdough bread keep?” A self-contained, concrete answer helps people and systems more than a general welcome paragraph. It does not automatically produce a particular position.

GEO · Generative Engine Optimization

Preparing content as a possible source

ChatGPT, Perplexity & the like write answers themselves – from sources they trust. GEO improves the conditions for your content to be considered: machine-readable (schema.org, a clear structure), verifiable (facts, authorship, currency) and consistent everywhere AI systems look.

Put simply

As with a recommendation in the neighbourhood, a coherent overall picture matters. A business that appears consistently and explains its work clearly is easier to assess as a possible source.

In context

SEO, AEO, GEO – what is the difference?

Three disciplines that build on one another – not an either/or decision.

Criterion SEO AEO GEO
Goal Rank in search results Supply the direct answer Be considered as a source
Where visible Google & Bing (results list) Featured snippets, voice search ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews
What gets optimised Keywords, technology, links Questions & precise answers Structure, evidence, E-E-A-T, consistency
Typical outcome Positions 1–10 “Position 0” Possible mention as a source
Relationship The foundation Builds on SEO Builds on SEO + AEO
In short: SEO improves classic discoverability; AEO structures direct answers; GEO makes content easier for generative systems to assess and potentially use as a source.

In practice

What actually changes in a text

Three typical moves from AEO/GEO work – before and after. The examples are deliberately neutral (a fictional sample company, “FINK Installationen”), but the principle is real.

Answer up front

Before

“Welcome to our website! We are a dynamic company with many years of experience, offering innovative, bespoke solutions for our valued customers…”

No substance in the opening sentences: neither people nor machines learn what is on offer here.

After

“FINK Installationen is a fictional plumbing firm in Vienna-Hietzing. We repair, refurbish and plan bathrooms. After an inspection, you receive a clearly scoped fixed price.”

Who, what, where and what the next step looks like – explained concretely without an invented figure.

Answer in the first paragraph Concrete facts Location named

Questions as headings

Before

Heading: “Our services at a glance” – followed by a long stretch of prose about quality, experience and customer satisfaction.

Nobody searches for “services at a glance”. The questions customers really ask do not appear in the text at all.

After

Headings: “What does a bathroom refit cost in Vienna?” · “How long does a bathroom refurbishment take?” · “Do you handle emergencies too?” – each with the answer directly underneath.

Questions as headings (H2/H3) create clear anchors for concise answers, snippets and machine understanding of the page.

Questions as H2/H3 FAQPage schema Covers real search queries

Machine-readable facts

Before

Opening hours appear as a photo of a sign on the website; prices only in a PDF brochure to download.

Text in images or complex PDFs is usually less reliably extractable than sound HTML. OCR and multimodal systems may still process it, but with less predictable results.

After

Opening hours, address and prices sit on the page as text – and are additionally marked up for machines with schema.org (LocalBusiness, OpeningHours, PriceRange).

Structured data is like a label on the shelf: it adds useful context, but it does not replace visible content or the system’s own assessment.

schema.org Text instead of image or PDF Consistent facts

Self-check · 1 minute

Is your website already visible to AI?

Five honest questions – answer them off the top of your head.

1. Do the first two sentences on your home page say what you offer – and who for?
2. Do your pages answer real customer questions (“What does … cost?”, “How long does … take?”) – as headings of their own?
3. Does your website use structured data (schema.org) – for FAQs, your organisation or your services, for example?
4. Does your website load quickly, and is it accessible to use?
5. Do the name, address and facts about your company match everywhere online?

How to score it: count your “yes” answers and compare them with the table.

  • 0–1 out of 5: Your website is currently hard for AI systems to read – the good news is that this is where the gains are biggest. An audit shows the quickest steps.
  • 2–3 out of 5: A solid base, but room to improve: the answer structure or the structured data are probably missing. Targeted additions will go a long way here.
  • 4–5 out of 5: The foundations are present. The next step is to improve clarity and consistency, then use dated, repeatable checks to observe whether anything changes over time.

How we work on your AI visibility

No magic, just craft – in four steps you can follow.

1

AI visibility audit

We check how your website appears in snippets and AI answers today – and where it falls short: structure, content, technology, consistency.

2

Content & structure

Answers up front, real customer questions as headings, FAQ sections with substance – your content becomes citable without losing its character.

3

Technology & markup

Structured data (schema.org), clean semantics, performance and accessibility – the language machines understand.

4

Monitor & refine

AI search changes fast. We repeat documented test questions and track how source mentions change, without treating one answer as a general result.

Honestly: Nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT or Google will cite a page; such a guarantee would be misleading. We can make content clear, well-supported and technically accessible so answer systems can assess and potentially use it.

Common questions about AEO & GEO

What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?
AEO optimises content so that it appears as the direct answer in search systems. That includes featured snippets on Google, answers from voice assistants and answer boxes in search. The main levers: questions as headings, the answer in the first two sentences, a clean structure and FAQ markup with schema.org.
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO prepares content so generative systems can assess it more easily and consider it as a possible source. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews assemble their answers from sources they trust. GEO strengthens exactly those trust signals: a clear structure, verifiable facts, identifiable authorship, currency and consistency across every channel.
Do AEO and GEO replace classic SEO?
No – they build on it. Technically accessible pages and clear, well-supported content help both classic search and answer systems. How each system selects sources is not fully disclosed. A sensible order is therefore a sound SEO foundation, followed by self-contained answers and verifiable evidence.
How do I know whether my website appears in AI answers?
Test it: ask ChatGPT or Perplexity the questions your customers ask. Ask, for example, “Who does [your service] in [your region]?” or a typical technical question from your working day – and see which sources get named. In our audit we do this systematically for your most important questions and document the results.
What does AEO/GEO optimisation cost?
As part of ongoing SEO support or as a project of its own – a fixed price after the audit. The effort depends on the state of your website: a structurally healthy site often needs only targeted additions, an older website more groundwork. After the audit you will know exactly what makes sense and what it costs.
How quickly does AEO/GEO take effect?
There is no dependable timeframe for being cited. Changes appear only after recrawling, and AI systems select different sources depending on the question, model and time. We therefore document the starting point and observe developments over time instead of promising a deadline.
Can you guarantee that ChatGPT will cite us?
No – and nobody reputable can. AI systems decide for themselves which sources they use, and their criteria keep changing. What we do: implement the known success factors properly, measure the results and refine. That improves the conditions without securing a mention – a promise would not be honest.
What is an llms.txt – and do I need one?
An llms.txt is an optional text overview of a website's most important content. The format is a young convention, not a generally binding standard. Unlike robots.txt it does not control access and cannot guarantee that an AI system will use it. It can provide a compact set of links, so we use it only as a supplement to accessible pages, clear navigation and structured data.

Let us find out how visible you are to AI

In a free first call we run a dated sample query together and explain what that single result does and does not tell us. Clear, understandable and without a promise of future mentions.

Arrange a call

Terms related to this service

Technical terms that appear on this page – explained in one sentence in our glossary.

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