How to do AIO? 

What is AIO?

AI Optimization (AIO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) represent the evolution of SEO in the gen AI era. While SEO focuses on ranking in traditional search engines, AIO/AEO is about optimizing your content to be surfaced, cited, and recommended by AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews / Gemini, and other LLM platforms.

What companies is AIO suitable for?

AIO isn't for every brand, but it's a massive opportunity for startups and early movers in niche domains. It's most effective for emerging technology brands launching new categories, vertical SaaS companies with specialized expertise, data-rich platforms like marketplaces or comparison sites, and B2B brands in specialized domains where buyers use AI assistants for research. If you can become the authoritative reference before competitors do, you'll own your category in AI-powered search.

The key advantage: you don't need years of backlinks or domain authority—you need to be the clearest, most structured source of truth in your niche. Build comprehensive, citation-worthy content now, and AI systems will reference you by default, even against much larger brands. Like early programmatic SEO adopters who dominated their categories, the brands that master AIO first will win. The opportunity window is now..

AIO / AEO optimizes content for AI-powered platforms, positioning brands as the authoritative sources that LLMs cite and reference. Early adopters are already seeing results:

  • Glassdoor: Consistently cited in AI responses for company reviews and salary data
  • Reddit: Became a primary source for ChatGPT and Perplexity across countless topics
  • Yelp: Surfaces as the go-to reference for local business information in AI answers

Key benefits of AIO/AEO:

  • Positions your brand as cited authority in AI responses
  • Captures traffic from AI-powered search platforms
  • Builds long-term visibility as AI adoption grows
  • Future-proofs your content strategy for the next era of search

    Create your AIO / AEO growth engine  

    What’s Your Niche? Where do your users / prospects get information? What sources do LLMs use? DYOR  

    Do your own research. Research is 80% of the work before you start optimizing for AI. Identify gaps where AI models give vague, incomplete, or outdated answers. Think about what questions your audience asks AI assistants and where current responses fall short. Use ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's Gemini & Google Search (for AI Overviews) to test queries in your domain and analyze which sources get cited. 

    For example, if you're in B2B SaaS, test queries like:

    • "Best [tool type] for [use case]"
    • "How to [solve problem] in [industry]"

    Pro tip: Focus on queries where AI gives generic answers or cites competitors. These are opportunities where you can become the authoritative source.

    Create structured, citation-worthy content 

    Content structure is key. AI models need clear, comprehensive information they can extract and cite confidently. Your content should include:

    • Complete answers - address the full question, not just surface-level info
    • Structured data - use schema markup, clear hierarchies, and semantic HTML
    • Precise facts - verify claims and provide sources AI models can trust
    • Unique insights - proprietary data or expert perspectives competitors lack

    Make sure your content is clean, accurate, and free of fluff. AI models prioritize authoritative, well-structured sources.

    Optimize for machine readability 

    Your content must be easy for AI systems to parse and understand. Key elements to implement:

    • Clear page structure - H1, H2, H3 hierarchy that mirrors user questions
    • Semantic HTML - proper tags that help AI understand content relationships
    • Schema markup - structured data that makes your content machine-readable
    • Comprehensive context - each page should be self-contained with full context, not requiring clicks to other pages

    Your goal is to be the clearest, most complete source AI models find—so they cite you by default.Retry

      How to get mentions/citations for AIO 

      Target high-authority, structured platforms. AI models prioritize certain types of sources when generating responses. Get your content on: 

      • Knowledge bases & documentation sites: create comprehensive guides, FAQs, and resources that AI models recognize as authoritative
      • Industry publications & trade sites: guest posts, contributed articles, and expert commentary in reputable vertical publications
      • Structured data platforms: use schema markup, JSON-LD, and semantic HTML that AI can easily parse
      • Community sites: thoughtful, detailed answers on Reddit, Quora, and niche forums where AI models already pull context

       

      Get mentioned on high-authority sources

      AI models prioritize certain platforms when pulling information. Target placements on:

      • Major publications: Forbes, Business Insider, TechCrunch, and industry-specific authoritative sites that AI models trust
      • Trade & vertical media: industry publications, analyst reports, and specialized news sites in your domain
      • PR & earned media: press releases, expert quotes, and thought leadership features that establish credibility
      • Academic & research platforms: white papers, studies, and educational content that AI views as factual sources
      • Leverage user-generated content platforms that AI models rely on heavily: Reddit, YT, Quora, Niche forums & communities
      • Dominate traditional search engines: Google & Bing, as they feed AI training data
      • Do SEO & pSEO: rank for key queries / High SERP visibility!

        What to avoid in AIO?

        AIO / AEO is emerging and there's a TON of noise, hype, and snake oil to navigate. Be careful about:

        • LinkedIn influencers/gurus' hype, empty promises, pseudo-success stories 
        • Online courses :) 
        • SEO agencies pretending they've cracked the code and have some "special" AIO sauce - it's BS 
        • That there's a 'specific way' to do AIO: AIO requires experimentation, technical depth, and understanding how LLMs work. 

        Again, do your own research. Build your own expertise. AIO is too new for anyone to be a definitive expert.