Answer Engine Optimisation: writing for models that answer, not links
confirmed
Search is splitting. Some queries still return ten blue links; a growing share return a synthesised answer with a few citations. Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the practice of being the source that answer cites — and it is a different job from ranking a page.
What changes
| Classic SEO | AEO |
|---|---|
| Rank in a list | Be quoted in the answer |
| Keyword coverage, backlinks | Clear claims a model can lift verbatim |
| Long dwell time | A definition the model can cite in one sentence |
| Title + meta | The first paragraph is the answer |
What models cite
- A direct, self-contained claim early in the page. "X is Y. It works by Z." Not a 300-word wind-up.
- Structure the model can parse: real headings, comparison tables, short lists. A trade-off in a table is more citable than the same trade-off in prose.
- Named entities and specific numbers. Vague pages don't get quoted; "≈0.61 GB per billion parameters at Q4_K_M" does.
- A stable URL and a maintained date. Models weight freshness.
- Consistency across your site. If your glossary and your guide disagree, neither is safe to cite.
Practical moves
- Put the answer in the first sentence. Bold it if it helps.
- Add one table per page that captures the core decision.
- Keep a real
/llms.txt— a plain-text map of your canonical claims. - Don't overclaim. A model that catches your site inflating one fact discounts the rest.
The rule
Write the page so a model could answer the query using only your first paragraph and one table, and would be correct to. That is AEO. Everything else — schema, internal links, freshness — supports it but doesn't replace it.
END OF ANALYSIS