The answer they cite
is yours.
A growing share of commercial research never reaches a list of blue links. It happens inside an AI assistant that reads the web and hands back one answer. Answer engine optimisation is the discipline of being the source that answer is built from.
At a glance
Answer Engine Optimisation at a glance
Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini cite it as a source in their answers. It rests on a clear answer up front and specific, dated, sourced claims, the kind research has found generative engines cite more often. Involve Digital engineers client content for citation, starting with an audit of how the assistants answer the questions your buyers ask today.
The discipline
What Answer Engine Optimisation involves
Citation is the new ranking
When a buyer asks an assistant which provider to shortlist, there is no page two. There is one answer, assembled from a handful of sources the model decided to trust. Being one of those sources is the whole game, and it is decided by signals plenty of SEO programmes never optimise for.
What the research shows
The 2023 study that coined generative engine optimisation (published at KDD 2024) tested what raises the visibility of a page in AI answers. Citing sources, adding quotations and adding statistics did best, up to 40% in its tests; keyword stuffing, an old SEO habit, did little. Google says its AI features need no special schema or markup, and that SEO fundamentals still apply.
So the brands that win citations read as authoritative: specific, verifiable and sourced.
Engineering content for citation
We restructure key pages around direct-answer blocks, tighten claims so every number is specific and sourced, add the quotations and statistics that make a page worth citing, and keep the schema markup accurate. The same work makes the content better for human skim-readers, not worse.
How we run it
How we run an AEO programme
01
Citation audit
We test the prompts your buyers actually use across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, and map where you are cited, where a competitor is, and where the answer is simply wrong.
02
Answer-first restructure
Priority pages are rebuilt around clear direct-answer blocks, so a model can lift a clean, correct statement without ambiguity.
03
Schema and consistency
Accurate structured data, and your business described the same way across the web, so engines can tell who you are, what you do, and why you are credible.
04
Evidence and dating
Every claim tightened to a specific, dated, verifiable form, because research finds specific, sourced claims are cited more often.
05
Report to pipeline
Monthly reporting against qualified pipeline tied to your CRM, with the rankings attached.
Proof
Our Search Experience
The search engagements behind the discipline. Every metric is on the books and tied to a named client. Click any card for the full engagement detail.
Keep exploring
The other three pillars.
01
Classical SEO
Technical foundation, indexability, schema, topical depth, link equity. The non-negotiable base layer Google still rewards. Every page we ship targets Lighthouse 95+.
Explore SEO03
Generative Engine Optimisation
Brand surface design for the AI-powered SERP: Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity. Rank for the question, not just the keyword.
Explore GEO04
Paid Search
Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, retargeting. Tightly tracked, attributed to pipeline, run by a senior account lead, not a junior on a spreadsheet.
Explore Paid SearchFAQ
Questions worth answering.
How is AEO different from classical SEO?
Classical SEO optimises to rank in a list of links on Google and Bing. AEO optimises to be cited as a source inside an AI assistant answer. The signals overlap on a clean technical base, but AEO leans harder on a clear answer up front and specific, dated, sourced evidence.
Can you really influence what ChatGPT or Claude say?
You cannot dictate a model output, but you can materially change the source material it reads. Assistants assemble answers from content they can find, parse and trust. Making your content the clearest, most specific and most structured source for your category makes you more likely to be the one cited.
Is it worth it while AI search is still small?
It is small the way mobile was small in 2008. Assistants are answering more of the research buyers used to do on a results page, the brands that build citation authority early are better placed as that grows, and the work doubles as stronger classical SEO in the meantime.
Start
Ten minutes with the strategist.
Tell the strategist what you're trying to grow. By the end of the conversation you'll have a plan, a quote and a senior strategist on the line.