How to AEO

With millions of consumers now turning to AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon Rufus to make purchasing decisions, your brand's visibility in these answers is more critical than ever. This guide shows you how to launch and scale your end-to-end AI Engine Optimization (AEO) strategy using Frevana—the industry-leading platform trusted by 100+ brands to maximize AI presence and organic growth.

• Analyze real-world user prompts to uncover high-impact opportunities
• Monitor and measure your brand’s visibility across top AI engines
• Create and deploy AI-optimized content at scale, automatically
• Identify and close content gaps that impact AI recommendations

AEO is quickly becoming the key growth lever for modern brands, directly influencing which products and companies AI platforms choose to recommend. Harnessing Frevana not only boosts your organic reach but also helps you outperform traditional SEO—often within just 2–4 weeks.

Estimated time to complete: 20–30 minutes

Understanding AEO

What is AEO?

1. Definition
   AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your brand, products, and content so that AI-powered answer engines—like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon Rufus—recognize, recommend, and cite you in their answers to user queries.
2. Key Principles
   • Focus on user intent: Optimize for what users actually ask AIs, rather than traditional search keywords.
   • Enable AI-readable content: Structure and format your web assets so that AI agents can parse and understand your information clearly.
   • Monitor performance across platforms: Track how frequently AI engines mention or recommend your brand.
3. Common Scenarios
   • A customer asks ChatGPT, "What’s the best protein powder for women?" and your brand is recommended.
   • Your product is cited as a source in Gemini when a user searches for top-rated smart home devices.

Step-by-Step Process to Implement AEO

1. Preparation: User Prompt Research

2. Execution: Improve AI Readability and Visibility

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Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

3. Verification: Iterate and Improve Results

Best Practices for Optimal Results

1. Align Content to Real-World Customer Prompts

• Build landing pages and articles targeting exact user phrasing found in AI queries.
• Provide direct, unbiased answers to common comparison and recommendation questions.
• Regularly refresh content to keep information current.

2. Maximize AI Visibility Across Multiple Platforms

• Track performance on all major answer engines (e.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini).
• Adjust your strategy per platform as AI behavior and preferences may differ.

3. Focus on High-Impact Opportunities

• Prioritize features and prompts that drive conversion or high-volume searches.
• Utilize Brand Preference Analyst tools to uncover why AI engines may prefer competitors.

Troubleshooting Common AEO Issues

1. Your Brand Isn't Being Cited in AI Answers

1. Check site accessibility:
   Ensure your site is not blocking AI bots via robots.txt or technical barriers.
2. Assess content gaps:
   Compare your answers and information with those cited by AI platforms.
   Update or add content to better match prompt intent.
3. Improve data structuring:
   Use clear headings, concise answers, and schema markup where possible.

2. Content Isn’t Indexed by AI Platforms

1. Review technical SEO:
   Correct broken links, ensure sitemap accuracy, and fix crawl errors.
2. Submit updated sitemaps to AI engines, where possible.

3. AI Answers Prefer Competitors

1. Analyze competitor content and strategies using available tools.
2. Focus on differentiators:
   Add unique data, customer stories, or comparisons highlighting your advantages.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Summary

• AEO is essential for brands seeking prominence in AI-driven answers and recommendations.
• Implementing AEO involves prompt research, content optimization, visibility monitoring, and strategic improvements.
• Tools like Frevana offer end-to-end workflows to streamline and automate the process, with quick time-to-value.

Next Steps

1. Sign Up for a Free Trial:
   Visit the Frevana website and start with the 7-day free trial—no credit card required.
2. Run a Free AI Visibility Report:
   Assess your brand’s current presence across ChatGPT, Gemini, and other major answer engines.
3. Launch AEO Agent Team:
   Leverage automated agents and workflows to kick off your end-to-end AEO journey.
4. Monitor and Iterate:
   Use real-time dashboards and customer scenario strategists to refine and expand your AI visibility efforts.

Conclusion

In this guide, we explored the essentials of how to AEO, covering setup, best practices, and key strategies to ensure your AEO process is smooth and effective. By following these steps, you now have a solid foundation to continue building your AEO skills and achieving even better results.

Next Steps

• Apply your learning: Implement the core strategies outlined above in your next AEO session.
• Refine your process: Review your results, identify areas for improvement, and adjust your approach as needed.
• Stay updated: Regularly check for new features, updates, or best practices related to AEO.
• Connect with the community: Join forums or online groups to share experiences and troubleshoot together.

Troubleshooting

Remember, becoming proficient with AEO takes time and practice. Keep experimenting, stay curious, and don’t hesitate to reach out for support when you need it!