AEO checklist: answer engine optimization in 10 steps

AEO here means answer engine optimization, not the customs status of Authorised Economic Operator. It is the work of making sure search and answer engines – Google with AI Overviews and AI Mode, Bing with Copilot, ChatGPT and Perplexity – can find and understand your content and cite it as a source. Google states that, from Google Search's perspective, this is still SEO. These ten steps sum up what the providers document themselves; the longer version with explanations is our AI search readiness checklist on the blog. Neither Google nor Bing guarantees that you will be cited.

1. 1. Be indexable and allow snippets

   To appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, a page must, according to Google, be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet; there are no additional technical requirements. nosnippet, max-snippet and data-nosnippet apply there too: block snippets and the page drops out of the AI features. Also check that your site is included in Google Search's generative AI features in Search Console.

2. 2. Allow search crawlers, decide on training separately

   robots.txt lets you control search and training separately. OAI-SearchBot brings pages into ChatGPT search, Claude-SearchBot indexes for Claude's search feature, PerplexityBot surfaces pages in Perplexity – and, according to Perplexity, is not used for training foundation models. GPTBot and ClaudeBot collect training data; OpenAI says the settings are independent, so you can allow OAI-SearchBot and block GPTBot. Google-Extended only covers Gemini training and grounding, not Google Search.

3. 3. Don't forget Bing and IndexNow

   According to Bing, Copilot and Bing's AI answers rely on the same crawling, indexing and ranking foundation as regular search. Submit new, updated and deleted URLs via IndexNow, keep your XML sitemap current and link important pages internally. NOARCHIVE keeps content out of Copilot answers, NOCACHE limits Copilot to URL, title and snippet. From 1 February 2027, Microsoft will also honour separate preferences for training and grounding.

4. 4. Put the answer first

   Answer the question a page is meant for right at the start and skip long introductions – Bing recommends exactly that. One main topic per URL, facts and definitions stated explicitly, no key statement that only works between the lines. Every section should make sense without the rest of the page.

5. 5. Original knowledge, not mass content

   According to Google, unique and useful content will likely influence visibility in generative AI search more in the long run than any other measure. Don't repeat what is said everywhere or what a language model could produce on its own. Have a person review AI-written text: generating many pages without adding value can violate Google's spam policy on scaled content abuse. And since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act applies: AI-generated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest must be disclosed – unless it has been reviewed by people and someone holds editorial responsibility.

6. 6. Content as text, no extra AI files

   Important content belongs on the page as text; images and videos support it. Clear headings and semantic HTML help readers and screen readers, but Google says the code doesn't have to be perfect. There is no need to chop content into tiny chunks, and there is no ideal page length. Google Search needs no llms.txt or other AI text files – it ignores them.

7. 7. Structured data only for what is visible

   Google says structured data isn't required for its AI features, and there is no special AI markup. It remains useful for rich results – but only for content readers can see on the page. Google stopped showing FAQ rich results on 7 May 2026. Bing writes that markup may support grounding but guarantees no visibility.

8. 8. Name your brand and facts consistently

   Name your company, products, people and locations the same way everywhere – on your website, in profiles and directories; Bing recommends exactly this kind of clear, consistent naming. An About page with key facts, plus Organization markup on your home page or About page, helps Google understand your organization and tell it apart from others, according to Google's documentation.

9. 9. Keep content current, date it honestly

   Update content when facts change, remove what is outdated and notify IndexNow of changes – that is what Bing's guidelines say. Show a visible date that matches the dates in your structured data. Google lists changing a page's date without substantial changes as a warning sign of content made for search engines rather than people.

10. 10. Measure instead of guessing

    Search Console counts appearances in AI Overviews and AI Mode in the Performance report under 'Web'; since 31 August 2026 the generative AI performance report has also shown every site how often its URLs appeared there. Bing Webmaster Tools shows in its AI Performance report (public preview since February 2026) how often your content is cited in Copilot and AI summaries. For ChatGPT and Perplexity, spot checks with fixed questions remain – for example with our AI visibility check.

Next steps: Work through the list page by page, starting with the pages customers ask the most questions about: steps 1 to 3 are technical, 4 to 9 are about content, step 10 is about monitoring. The technical foundation – clean HTML structure, structured data matching the visible content, fast pages – is laid when a website is built and is part of our software development; questions on AI labelling under the AI Act are part of our AI consulting (not legal advice). Email us at info@rocket-monkeys.com.

Important note: This checklist is for general information. Visibility in AI answers cannot be guaranteed, and the notes on the AI Act are not legal advice; for a binding assessment, consult a lawyer.