How we ran the study

Sources
Large threads in the communities above plus coverage from search trades

What we looked for
Recurring questions. Tactics that show up in multiple teams. Posts that share real outcomes

How we synthesized
We mapped the chatter into themes. Turned those into a playbook. Pressure tested on live pages

The crowd keeps landing on one idea. Become the source that AI systems cite

Five themes that keep repeating

Clicks compress when AI answers early

When AI summaries appear fewer people need to click. Traffic still arrives yet the distribution changes. Winners are the sites that get named quoted and linked by the answer layer

What this means Do not write only for snippets and classic blue links. Write liftable answers that models can attribute

Ranking inside the answer needs answerability plus evidence

• A direct and unambiguous claim near the top in about one short paragraph
• Evidence right after it with a clear preference for your own data then expert quotations then tidy citations
• Clean structure with tables bullets and labeled sections that a model can parse

What this means Give every important page a front loaded answer block and a short section called How we know

Structure and schema now matter even more

Teams report better inclusion when pages ship valid FAQ HowTo Product Author and Organization schema. Clear headings and consistent labels help models understand the page

What this means Markup is not garnish. It is the interface between your work and an answer engine

Thin or duplicative content is a liability

Community audits repeat the same finding. Stitched AI text low effort FAQs and me too listicles often sink. Cutting merging or deeply enriching those pages leads to more stable visibility

What this means Run a quarterly thin content amnesty. Merge redirect or enrich anything that does not add novel value

Syndication can blur credit

Practitioners share cases where a syndicated copy is highlighted before the original. Canonical tags help but not always

What this means If you syndicate negotiate noindex on partner pages or require clear above the fold source attribution

The AEO playbook for the next fourteen days

Days one to two. Pick your answer set

• Pull your top queries by intent such as commercial how to comparison
• For each query write a one paragraph answer that anyone could lift verbatim
• Draft three bullets of evidence. Your own data is best then third party citations

Days three to five. Turn pages into answerable assets

• Lead with the answer block in about forty to one hundred twenty words then add two or three support bullets
• Add a How we know section with methods sample size date of data and author bio
• Make it scrapable. Place key facts in a simple table
• Add schema that reflects the intent of the page. Use FAQ HowTo Product Author and Organization where it fits

Days six to seven. Fix what is holding you back

• Thin content. Merge redirect or enrich
• Syndication. Use canonical tags and push for noindex or prominent attribution
• UX friction. Label elements the way an assistant expects such as Price Specs Steps Pros and Cons Alternatives

Days eight to ten. Test your answer visibility across engines

• Try the prompts a real user would type
• Check if your brand is named quoted or linked inside AI results across Google AI features Perplexity Gemini and ChatGPT with browsing
• Log where you appear and where competitors appear. Capture screenshots for internal buy in

Days eleven to fourteen. Ship original data

• Run a small survey even one hundred responses can help
• Publish a price or feature benchmark for your niche
• Release a field test such as before and after metrics for speed accuracy or cost
• Offer the data as a CSV and a simple table

The answerability checklist

• One clear paragraph answer near the top in plain language
• Evidence bullets immediately below with preference for your own data
• A How we know section with methods and date
• Clean H2 and H3 structure plus at least one small table of key facts
• Valid FAQ HowTo Product Author and Organization schema where appropriate
• Unique media such as a simple diagram or chart with descriptive alt text
• Canonical and a syndication plan if you share content elsewhere
• A weekly log of where AI systems name and link your work

A soft value add while you work

Converting legacy SEO pages into AEO ready assets takes time. Two jobs slow most teams. First checking if the page truly contains a liftable answer. Second making sure the right schema and support elements are present

To remove that friction we built a free Chrome extension called AEO Analyzer AI Website Optimizer

• It scans any page you view and flags missing answer block essentials such as a clear claim evidence and a source
• It highlights schema gaps across FAQ HowTo Product Author and Organization
• It saves a ready to paste prompt snippet you can use to test whether AI systems cite your page

Install AEO Analyzer AI Website Optimizer

A compact example you can copy

Query
Email warmup alternatives for SaaS founders

Answer block draft
The best email warmup alternatives for SaaS founders in 2025 are X Y and Z. Start with X if you need inbox level reputation building. Choose Y for automated throttling at scale. Use Z when compliance is the main constraint. In our tests across thirty inboxes X reduced spam foldering by eighteen percent after twenty one days

Evidence

• Thirty inbox test from March to May with similar domain age
• Daily sending ramp from five to forty with identical copy
• Spam trap monitoring via MTA logs

Structure

• Comparison table with price ramp curve throttling API and compliance notes
• FAQ that explains warmup versus reputation and shared pool risk
• How we know section that links to a CSV

Schema
FAQ plus Product for each tool plus Author

Run the extension on the page before you ship and fix what it flags

First three AEO bets if resources are tight

1. Retrofit answer blocks on your ten most important pages
2. Publish one small original dataset every quarter and include a CSV
3. Add syndication guardrails. If a partner will not provide noindex or prominent attribution limit what you share