AEO Is the New SEO: What LLMs Actually Need to Find You
Co-founder, CEO & CTO
Our leads were dropping.
When we dug into why with Angela, our SEO partner at Sexy Dashboards, search kept coming back as the primary factor.
That's when we found AEO, or answer engine optimization. It's how large language models like ChatGPT and Claude crawl a site and decide whether to cite it as a source when someone asks a question.
What LLMs Actually Need
We went deep on what these models look for. There's more going on under the hood than most sites ever touch:
FAQ pages structured so LLMs can pull direct answers
Schema markup that defines what a page actually is
An llms.txt file that tells models how to read the site
Clean, crawlable content structure throughout
Once we implemented it, people looking for a digital product agency, mobile apps to AI enablement, started finding us through LLMs. Not just Google.
The Bigger Lesson
It also confirmed something we've learned over 16+ years: this industry never sits still. The channels change. The tools change. What matters is having a partner who changes with them.
Need help? If your opportunities are having trouble finding you and AEO isn't on your radar yet, we can help. Book a free consultation.
AEO - answer-engine optimization - are you ready?
About the author
Co-founder, CEO & CTO
Dominic Tancredi co-founded Dom & Tom in 2009 and leads engineering, AI product development, and technical strategy. He writes on building, modernizing, and operating web, mobile, and AI-powered products.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if AEO is working?
Track referral traffic from AI platforms and watch whether your brand gets cited in AI-generated answers to questions in your space. If a lead mentions finding you through ChatGPT or another assistant, that's a strong signal it's working.
What does a site need to be AEO-ready?
At minimum: FAQ pages with clear, direct answers, structured data markup, an llms.txt file, and clean, crawlable content throughout the site.
How is AEO different from traditional SEO?
SEO gets you ranked in a list of links. AEO gets you cited directly inside an AI-generated answer. The two overlap, but AEO depends more on structured content, like FAQs and schema markup, than backlinks or keyword density.
What is AEO, or answer engine optimization?
AEO is the practice of structuring a website so large language models like ChatGPT and Claude can read it, understand it, and cite it when someone asks a related question.
Ready to build something amazing?
Let's discuss your project and explore how we can help bring your vision to life.