Optimisation for LLMs: Why AEO and GEO Are Your Next Competitive Edge

Have you asked ChatGPT for advice instead of Googling it this week? So have millions of others.

When people ask “What’s the best project management tool for small teams?” and ChatGPT mentions Asana and Trello, but not your brand, you’ve already been left out of the conversation.

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude aren’t just changing how people search. They’re becoming a new channel entirely, a place where decisions are influenced before buyers even visit a website.

This shift doesn’t kill SEO. But it does mean that traditional SEO alone isn’t enough. Brands that want to stay visible need to start thinking about AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation, and GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation, and how they complement good old-fashioned SEO.

The Rise of LLMs as a New Channel

LLMs are no longer just novelties. They’re where people are turning for quick answers, inspiration, and even purchase recommendations.

Think about how you or your customers already use them:

• Asking ChatGPT for “the best noise-cancelling headphones” and hearing about Sony and Bose.
• Asking Perplexity to summarise the pros and cons of Tesla vs. Rivian.
• Using Gemini to draft a packing list for a trip to Italy.

These aren’t simple keyword lookups. They’re conversations, and if your brand isn’t present in those answers, you’re invisible to a growing share of your audience.

What Is Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)?

AEO helps your content get picked up by answer engines, tools like Google’s featured snippets, knowledge panels, and FAQ boxes that directly answer user questions without a click.

It’s about signalling clearly: “We have the best, most trustworthy answer to this question.”

Examples of AEO in action:

• Adding FAQ sections and using question-driven headings
• Structuring content for featured snippets (“what, why, how” formats)
• Using schema markup to help search engines understand your content
• Targeting long-tail, intent-based queries

If you’ve ever searched “How to tie a bow tie” and seen Brooks Brothers’ concise how-to snippet at the top, that’s AEO done well.

What Is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)?

If AEO is about being featured in answer engines, GEO is about making sure your brand is included in the responses LLMs generate, like ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Unlike traditional search results, LLMs don’t just pull a snippet from one site. They generate entirely new answers, drawing from patterns they’ve learned across the web.

Examples of what supports GEO:

• Building strong topical authority with in-depth, citation-worthy content
• Being mentioned on authoritative third-party sites
• Ensuring your brand appears consistently across all digital touchpoints
• Creating resources that others cite (e.g., research, case studies)

If your website never makes it into the data these models were trained on, or isn’t deemed credible enough, you’ll never appear in the output.

A Useful Analogy

If traditional SEO is like building a billboard on the highway.

AEO is like getting your name on road signs at the key exits.

And GEO is like being the trusted passenger who rides along, giving directions.

Each one reaches people differently, and together, they help guide audiences toward you at every stage of their journey.

Why This Matters Now

This isn’t just a theoretical exercise.

Brands that move early tend to cement themselves as authorities in their niche while everyone else scrambles to catch up.

If your competitors are already being cited by LLMs, they’re shaping the conversation, and winning mindshare before prospects ever reach your website.

Ignoring this shift means letting others own the narrative about your category, your products, and even your brand.

How to Start and How to Measure

You don’t need to overhaul your entire strategy overnight. But you do need to start laying the groundwork:

• Audit your site: Is your content structured, clear, and easy to parse?
• Add or expand FAQ sections and answer-focused pages.
• Use schema markup and consistent brand language.
• Build authority with credible backlinks and high-quality citations.
• Monitor where your brand shows up, try asking LLMs directly about your category and see if you appear.

Be realistic about measurement. This is still an emerging field, and tracking direct impact from GEO, in particular, is tricky. Look for signs like increased citations, mentions, and referrals from LLM-related tools.

Patience pays off here. You’re investing in a presence that builds over time, not overnight wins.

Why Brands That Act Now Win

In a world where AI-generated content and commoditised products flood the digital landscape, your brand’s visibility and credibility have never mattered more.

Those who embrace SEO, AEO, and GEO together create a durable, multi-channel strategy that keeps them present wherever customers are making decisions, on Google, in conversations with LLMs, or through featured answers.

If your name isn’t showing up yet, now’s the time to change that.