If your web traffic has been dipping lately, don’t worry, it’s not because of your SEO; it’s AI. In 2025, users are asking AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity for answers instead of using Google. If you are not using the proven AEO tactics for your business, you’re invisible to millions of potential customers.
The graphic below by Datos and SparkToro highlights that nearly 60 % of Google searches now end without a click.
Source: SpartToro
Not only that, according to Elon University – North Carolina, 52% of U.S. adults now use AI large language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini.
What does this mean for your business?
There’s an urgent shift from being found in search results to being cited in Answer Engines. If you’re not upskilling your SEO game, you run the risk of becoming invisible to the next generation of search behaviours.
That’s where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization, a strategic approach aimed explicitly at getting LLMs and AI assistants to recommend your business, comes in.
Before we discuss the proven AEO tactics, let’s understand why focusing on AEO in 2025 is no longer optional.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
- SEO visibility is declining as users shift from Google searches to AI-driven queries on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot.
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) focuses on making your brand discoverable and recommendable by large language models (LLMs).
- Brands adopting AEO early are seeing 30–40% more traffic and brand mentions from LLMs.
- Ignoring AEO now could mean losing visibility in future search ecosystems.
- SEO gets you found, but AEO gets you recommended.
Why Is It Important to Focus on Answer Engine Optimization in 2025?
Visibility is no longer just about ranking on Google; it’s about being recommended by AI systems that power users to find information, make decisions, and buy products.
Let’s break down why AEO has become essential for every business in 2025.
What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the next evolution of SEO, but instead of just optimizing for Google and other search engines, it optimizes for AI-driven answer engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot.
These platforms don’t display “10 blue links” like Google, Bing, and other search engines. They generate a single, trusted response citing sources, entities, or brands that they deem authoritative.
If your business doesn’t appear in those citations or AI-generated recommendations, your business is invisible to this growing segment of users.
That’s where AEO comes in. It helps your brand train LLMs to recognize, trust, and recommend your content.
Top 5 Reasons to Prioritize AEO in 2025
- Users Are Searching Through AI, Not Just Google: Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are replacing traditional search for millions of users. From product comparisons to tutorials, users are asking AI directly instead of browsing multiple pages.
- LLMs Favor Entities Over Keywords: AI models focus on understanding entities (people, brands, products, locations) rather than just keywords. Optimizing your content for entity recognition and context makes it easier for these models to identify and cite you.
- Early AEO Adoption = Competitive Advantage: Most brands are still chasing SEO. That means there’s a limited window to become one of the first trusted data sources for AI engines — before your competitors catch up.
- Zero-Click Searches Are Skyrocketing: Users are getting answers directly from AI snippets, Google AI Overviews, and AI summaries. This means if you’re not being cited there, you’re losing visibility.
- AEO Future-Proofs Your Digital Presence: Search and AI will continue to merge. By focusing on AEO now, your brand builds structured, entity-rich visibility that remains relevant whether users ask Google, ChatGPT, or any next-gen assistant.
Popular Answer Engines to Optimize in 2025
Here are the leading platforms shaping the future of online visibility:
- ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational, citation-friendly, and heavily used for product research.
- Perplexity AI: Combines natural answers with verifiable source links, ideal for credibility-focused brands.
- Google Gemini: Integrated across Google’s ecosystem, soon to merge with traditional SERPs.
- Microsoft Copilot: Embedded in Windows, Outlook, and Edge, a direct B2B visibility opportunity.
- Claude, DeepSeek: Emerging answer engines building their own knowledge graphs.
AEO isn’t replacing SEO, but it’s redefining it. The brands that start optimizing for AI-driven answer visibility today will dominate tomorrow’s search landscape.
Next, let’s break down the key differences between AEO and SEO, so you can see exactly how to adjust your strategy for this new era of AI visibility.
How AEO Differs From SEO?
While Search Engine Optimization(SEO) and Answer Engine Optimization(AEO) both aim to improve visibility, their mechanisms and the way they interpret content are fundamentally different.
SEO vs. AEO: The Key Differences
| Aspect | Traditional SEO | Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank on search result pages | Be cited or recommended by AI answer engines |
| Audience Behavior | Users click and browse multiple links | Users ask and receive a single trusted answer |
| Optimization Focus | Keywords, backlinks, meta tags | Entities, context, structured data, credibility |
| Content Format | Long-form, keyword-rich articles | Concise, fact-based, Q&A-driven content |
| Ranking Signal | Algorithmic relevance | Semantic relevance + factual reliability |
| Primary Output | Search engine result pages (SERPs) | AI-generated answers with citations |
| Measurement Metrics | Impressions, CTR, organic traffic | Mentions, AI citations, referral visibility |
| Tools & Data Sources | Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush | Perplexity analytics, Bing Copilot, LLM queries, custom AEO trackers |
SEO helps users find your website, while AEO helps AI models understand your brand and recommend it as a credible source. Both can work hand-in-hand; SEO builds authority, and AEO ensures that authority is recognized by AI.
Important Note:
If your SEO is not strong, your chances of ranking on Answer Engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini are lower. The main reason is that they crawl the internet directories to find credible sources.
Now, the question is how to optimize for these answer engines.
Let’s explore the proven strategies to make ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini recommend your business and how real brands are already seeing measurable traffic from it.
Proven Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Strategies to Get Traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
Search engines are no longer the only gateways to discovery. Since 2023, AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot have been shaping how users consume information and make decisions. These systems don’t just rank content; they interpret, synthesize, and recommend trusted sources.
To make your business visible in this new landscape, you need to optimize for Answer Engines — where credibility and context matter more than clicks and keywords.
Here are the proven AEO strategies that consistently help brands get cited and referenced by leading AI platforms.
Optimize for Entities — Not Just Keywords
Move beyond keyword optimization and focus on entity-based content — specific people, places, brands, and topics that LLMs can clearly identify.
Implement structured data (Organization, FAQ, Product, and Author schema) and maintain consistent brand references across web, social, and media profiles.
Why It Matters: AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini rely on entity recognition to determine trustworthiness. When your brand appears consistently in authoritative, structured contexts, it becomes part of the AI’s knowledge framework, dramatically increasing the odds of being mentioned or recommended.
Using Q&A Platforms Like Reddit and Quora
Engage actively on platforms such as Reddit, Quora, and Stack Exchange, where LLMs frequently source conversational data.
Create an account with your company name. Claim websites and craft answers that demonstrate expertise, include credible references, and subtly reinforce your brand’s authority and expertise, without over-promotion. Do not stuff links in every response.
Why It Matters: These Q&A communities are among the primary datasets feeding modern LLMs.
Consistent, value-driven participation positions your brand as a trusted contributor, often resulting in indirect citations in AI-generated responses.
Structure Your Pinterest Presence for Visual Discovery
Pinterest’s structured boards and metadata-rich visuals make it a powerful yet underused AEO channel.
Organize boards with keyword-optimized titles, descriptive pin text, and backlinks to relevant resources or articles on your site.
Why It Matters: LLMs increasingly analyze visual data repositories to interpret brand identity. A well-structured Pinterest presence reinforces topical authority, especially in consumer, design, and lifestyle niches, strengthening your digital entity graph.
Build a Public Knowledge Graph for Your Brand
Develop a transparent, data-rich About or Resource page that connects your company name, founders, services, and verified profiles.
Submit your business details to structured data platforms such as Wikidata and Crunchbase, as well as industry news sites, to enhance credibility.
Why It Matters: AI models cross-reference multiple structured datasets before generating recommendations. Having a verified, interconnected digital footprint significantly improves your chances of being cited as a reliable source in AI-driven answers.
Publish Thought Leadership and Earn Media Mentions
Contribute guest articles, expert insights, and opinion pieces to reputable media outlets and industry blogs.
Each mention or citation builds your off-page authority, the very signal LLMs use to identify trustworthy brands.
Why It Matters: Unlike traditional SEO, AEO rewards verifiable expertise. A single high-authority media mention can place your brand within the citation network that AI systems reference to formulate responses.
Create Conversational, Query-Focused Content
Reformat key web pages and articles into question-driven structures, addressing “What,” “How,” and “Why” queries directly. Include factual summaries and contextual links to improve machine readability.
Why It Matters: AEO prioritizes answer relevance over keyword frequency. By aligning your content with the way users ask questions in AI tools, you make it easier for LLMs to extract and cite your insights.
Measure and Monitor AEO Visibility
Track where your brand or content is being mentioned within AI ecosystems using tools like Perplexity Analytics, ChatGPT Custom GPT mentions, or Brand24. Evaluate which content types and queries drive visibility.
Why It Matters: AEO success isn’t measured by search rankings alone. Monitoring citations and references across LLM platforms gives you actionable data to refine your strategy and strengthen your AI visibility footprint.
These strategies collectively establish your brand’s authority across both traditional web ecosystems and AI-driven platforms.
To see their real-world impact, let’s look at how MSOfficeGeek.com achieved a 30-40% traffic increase by implementing targeted AEO tactics, directly from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and many other AI answer engines around the world, including DeepSeek and Blackbox.
Case Study: 40% Increase in Traffic for MSOfficeGeek.com from LLMs
Zero To Nine Marketing has partnered with MSOfficeGeek since its inception in 2021, a platform offering ready-to-use Excel templates across categories like accounting, personal finance, taxation, education, and U.S. federal income tax.
We laid the groundwork for the website. We have helped them scale to 18.5 million impressions in the past year alone and 5ook visitors without spending a single dime on paid marketing.
You can check out the full case study of MSOfficeGeek here.
The strategies that we have mentioned above are proven strategies that we have implemented for this client and successfully achieved the results.
When AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity began transforming how users searched for tutorials, our AEO-focused strategy ensured MSOfficeGeek transitioned seamlessly from search visibility to AI visibility.
What followed was a data-backed transformation:
A 40% surge in traffic driven purely by Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Q&A Platforms
Before the launch of ChatGPT in the first quarter of 2023, we had already built a thorough foundation of MSOfficeGeek on Q&A platforms like Quora, Reddit, and Medium.
This proactive strategy not only attracted steady organic traffic during 2021–22 but also positioned the brand as a trusted source in datasets later used by LLMs.
After ChatGPT’s global adoption, MSOfficeGeek began receiving direct referral traffic from AI-generated answers, followed by measurable mentions across Perplexity and Gemini (formerly Bard).
As they were into solutions and templates, we designed the Pinterest strategy from the inception. We followed the 1:8 ratio in pinning content on Pinterest.
This means we uploaded one of the client’s pins and 7 of the other similar pins from other creators in the boards. It helped us get good traction from Pinterest.
This approach positioned the brand as a valuable curator, not just a promoter, leading to consistent traction and visibility across niche boards.
By the time LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity began integrating visual discovery signals, MSOfficeGeek’s Pinterest presence already carried topical authority, leading to higher recommendation frequency for “Excel templates” and “financial calculators.”
Results:
Structured Schema and Content
Based on traditional SEO principles, we had already been using the SCHEMA markup and structured content.
We were using structured Schemas like FAQs, Table of Contents, Author Schema, Local Schema, etc. So when these AI chatbots or answer engines like ChatGPT were launched, we had the beginner’s advantage.
FAQs Snapshot from 2022:
Image
Authoritative User Focused Content
We guided MSOfficeGeek to focus on long-tail, intent-driven keywords sourced via AnswerThePublic, SEMrush, and Ahrefs, emphasizing “What,” “Why,” and “How” queries.
This made the content naturally conversational — a key trigger for AI systems identifying relevant answer sources.
By October 2024, MSOfficeGeek began ranking within Google’s AI Overview results.
Moreover, we also started gaining more citations from ChatGPT and Gemini for solution-based queries like “best Excel tax template” and “how to automate spreadsheets.
Final Thoughts
- Entity clarity is more powerful than keyword repetition; LLMs prioritize well-defined information networks.
- Conversational formatting drastically improves AI readability and citation potential.
- Cross-platform consistency (website, LinkedIn, Reddit, Quora) strengthens trust signals for AI systems.
- Tracking LLM-based mentions provides new visibility metrics that traditional SEO tools overlook.
As the web continues evolving toward AI-driven discovery, AEO(Answer Engine Optimization) is an essential visibility layer.
Let’s now understand why brands are turning to Zero To Nine Marketing to future-proof their digital presence for this next era of organic growth.
Why Choose With Zero To Nine Marketing?
Zero To Nine Marketing stands at the forefront of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), empowering brands to get discovered, cited, and trusted across AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot.
We don’t just optimize for clicks; we optimize for answers. Our team integrates SEO expertise, content strategy, and AI-driven insights to help brands future-proof their online presence and secure visibility across evolving search ecosystems.
What Sets Us Apart
- Proven AEO Frameworks: We use data-driven strategies that have delivered measurable results — including a 40% increase in LLM-driven traffic for MSOfficeGeek.com. Our approach blends content optimization, data analysis, and AI insights to enhance visibility across answer engines.
- AI-Centric Content Engineering: We focus on how AI interprets content, not just what users search for. By using entity-based content structures and advanced schema integrations, we ensure your content is easily understood and recommended by large language models.
- Full-Stack Digital Expertise: Our team integrates AEO with SEO, performance marketing, influencer outreach, and brand strategy. This creates a connected digital growth system that amplifies your reach across multiple touchpoints.
- Continuous AI Intelligence: We stay ahead of algorithm and LLM behavior changes by constantly monitoring prompt trends, answer engine updates, and AI-driven search shifts. This ensures your brand remains visible and relevant in the evolving AI ecosystem.
Want to get ahead of your competitors and rank higher with Answer Engine Optimization?
Contact us to get your brand referred, recommended, and featured by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Claude.