Glossary · Traffic · also AEO
What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?
Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the practice of writing and structuring pages so that answer engines, meaning AI assistants and search features that reply with a direct answer, can find a page, lift a self-contained passage from it and cite the source. It overlaps with SEO and with generative engine optimisation, and its unit of success is the quoted answer rather than the ranked link.
- Reviewed 6 October 2026
In more detail
Answer engines assemble replies from passages, so a page earns citations by answering its question in its first sentences, naming the subject in the first clause, and keeping each answer readable on its own, with nothing of the page around it.
The questions people bring to assistants come in a few repeatable shapes: what is X, how do I fix Y, which tool for Z. Definition pages, how-to pages and comparisons map onto those shapes directly, which is why they carry weight out of proportion to their traffic.
For a store, AEO is also a data problem. An assistant asked for a product can only state a price, availability or returns policy it can read as plain text or structured data, so missing or contradictory facts get the store left out or misquoted.
Key points
- Write the answer first, in a sentence that stands alone.
- Name the subject in the first clause.
- Back facts with structured data and plain text an assistant can read.
- Keep URLs that assistants cite working, or redirect them to the right page.
How Liftable relates
Related terms
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Last reviewed against the product on 6 October 2026.
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