10 Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) Strategies to Dominate AI-Powered SERPs

As artificial intelligence progressively transforms how people search, our traditional SEO playbook no longer suffices. Instead of simply chasing higher ranks on classical search engine pages, savvy digital marketers must also compete to be the answer that AI and chat-based search tools cite. That’s where answer engine optimisation (AEO) comes in.

We’ll explain what AEO means in practice, why it matters, and then walk you through 10 concrete strategies you can use to dominate AI-powered SERPs. 

What Is Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)?

Before diving into strategy, let’s clarify the concept.

In essence, answer engine optimisation is the practice of structuring and crafting web content so that AI-powered answer engines (such as ChatGPT with browsing, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews, voice assistants, etc.) can easily interpret, summarise, and cite it when generating direct responses to user queries.

In contrast to traditional SEO, whose emphasis is ranking pages in a list of organic results, AEO is about being quoted or cited in AI-generated answers. It’s no longer just about clicks: it’s about visibility within the answer, which often precedes clicking.

Put simply:

• Traditional SEO: “How do I rank my page on Google?”
• AEO: “How do I make sure ChatGPT (or Bing Chat) cites my content when answering a question?”

As AI becomes embedded in the search experience, being the cited answer becomes arguably even more valuable than being the top blue link. 

Hence, to dominate AI-powered SERPs, you need to layer AEO strategies on top of your existing SEO foundation. Below are 10 strategies to help you do just that.

10 AEO Strategies to Dominate AI-Powered SERPs

Below are 10 strategies to help you navigate the complex world of AI-powered search results.

1. Identify and Prioritise High-Value Question Queries

The first step in AEO is to discover which questions people genuinely ask, in conversational, natural language, within your niche or vertical.

• Use SEO tools such as AnswerThePublic, Semrush’s “Questions” filter, Google’s “People Also Ask,” or ChatGPT itself to brainstorm real queries.
• Look at your existing content’s search queries in Google Search Console and spot question-style queries that are already driving impressions.
• Conduct user research: ask your sales/support teams or customers what questions they often pose.

Once you have a list of high-intent, question-based topics, rank them by:

1. Relevance to business goals (e.g. lead generation, awareness)
2. Existing competition
3. Likelihood of being cited (i.e. specificity, clarity, uniqueness)

You don’t need to optimise every question, start with a handful of your highest-potential ones and expand over time.

2. Use Question-Based Headings and Provide a Clear Direct Answer First

Because AI systems tend to extract the first few sentences under a heading when constructing answers, structure your content so that:

• The subheading (H2 or H3) poses the user’s question (e.g. “What is answer engine optimisation?”)
• Immediately under that heading, provide a concise, direct answer (in 1–2 sentences) before any elaboration

This “question → answer → expansion” pattern helps AI models pick up exactly what to cite.

After the direct answer, you can expand with details, examples, caveats, etc. But always lead with the crisp answer. This is akin to the principle behind featured snippet optimisation, but now with AI extraction in mind.

3. Structure Content with Semantic HTML, Bullets and Tables

AI models and citation engines favour content that is well-structured and easy to parse. To facilitate that:

• Use semantic HTML: <h2>, <h3>, <p>, <ul> / <ol>, <table> etc.
• Use bullet lists or numbered lists for enumerations
• Use tables for comparisons, data, pros/cons, features
• Keep paragraphs short (2-3 lines max), to avoid burdening extraction

This clarity in structure helps the model pick out discrete facts or steps when building answers.

For example, if you have a “5 key steps” section, render it as a numbered list rather than a long descriptive paragraph.

4. Implement Appropriate Schema / Structured Data Markup

Structured data (using schema.org vocabulary) helps search engines and downstream systems (including AI tools) understand the context and meaning of your content.

Some useful schema types for AEO include:

• QAPage or FAQPage (to mark FAQs)
• HowTo schema (for step-by-step instructions)
• Article or BlogPosting (for general content)
• ClaimReview (if you’re quoting or evaluating claims)
• Use datePublished / dateModified to signal freshness

By marking up your content with schemas, you increase the likelihood that the AI or answer engine recognises the content type and uses it in answers.

Just be sure to follow best practices (avoid schema violations, keep it accurate), misused markup can backfire.

5. Demonstrate Expertise, Original Insight and Evidence

AI models tend to prefer sources that show authority, original insight, and evidence. To strengthen your content’s chances of being cited, it’s best that you:

• Incorporate data, studies, or statistics (with proper citations)
• Add expert commentary or real-world examples (e.g. “In our work with 20 clients…” or case studies)
• Use strong internal and external citations (link out to trusted sources, include quotes)
• Keep author bio / credentials visible to reinforce expertise

This aligns with E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principles, which remain relevant even in AI extraction workflows.

6. Keep Content Fresh and Versioned

Recency matters. AI engines often prefer more recent content, or content with evidence of being maintained and updated. So you must make sure to:

• Periodically refresh articles: update statistics, add new examples, adjust for new developments
• Reflect updates in the dateModified metadata
• Add a visible “Last updated” timestamp
• For evergreen topics, consider versioning or “2025 edition” updates

The GEO16 research suggests that metadata freshness is a key pillar correlated with higher citation likelihood. A stale article is less likely to be cited as “current and reliable.”

7. Build Off-site Signals, Brand Mentions, and Citations

Because AI tools often rely on the “web of knowledge”, i.e. interconnections, citations, authority signals across domains, your off-page presence still matters, but with a twist:

• Earn brand mentions or quotes on reputable publications, niche blogs, forums, podcasts, etc.
• Get your content referenced in Wikipedia, industry reports, or authoritative lists
• Be consistent in your brand name, entity identity (avoid variations that confuse models)
• Participate in Q&A sites, expert roundups, interviews since they increase your chances of being included as a source

According to Semrush, AI visibility is boosted when your brand is mentioned and backed by other reputable sources.

In other words, content that is islanded (no inbound references) is less likely to become a citation.

8. Prioritise Content That Maps to “Zero-Click” / Featured Snippet Zones

Although AEO extends beyond typical featured snippets, there’s still a strong overlap: content that appears in “position zero” or answer boxes is more likely to be pulled by AI systems.

Therefore:

• Audit your site for existing pages that already rank in featured snippets or answer boxes
• Optimise those pages further with AEO techniques (e.g. refine answer sentences, add schema, structure)
• Monitor “People Also Ask” (PAA) expansions for adjacent questions you can target
• Use your knowledge of snippet formats (paragraph snippet, list snippet, table snippet) to tailor your answer accordingly

This synergy between snippet optimisation and AEO ensures you’re playing to both the traditional and AI-first audiences.

9. Use “AI Audit” & Manual Testing to Validate Citation Potential

Because AI tools are not entirely transparent, you should treat them as black boxes you can test and audit.

• Manually ask your target questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Chat, Google AI mode, etc., and see if your content is cited
• Track mentions / citations over time
• Use AI SEO toolkits (some SEO platforms are introducing AI visibility modules)
• Use the GEO16 framework or similar scoring models to audit your pages’ readiness (metadata, structure, freshness, etc.)

Iterate based on which pages are cited and which are not, refining or reworking non-performing ones.

10. Combine AEO and Traditional SEO as a Unified Strategy

It’s vital to remember that AEO does not replace classical SEO, it complements it. To truly dominate AI-powered SERPs, you need to integrate both approaches.

• Continue your keyword research, link building, page speed optimisation, mobile responsiveness, domain authority building (the usual SEO staples)
• For each target page, layer on AEO enhancements (question headings, schemas, clarity)
• Use internal linking to funnel authority toward your AEO-optimised pages
• Monitor both click metrics (via Analytics, Search Console) and citation / mention metrics (via AI tools and manual checks)
• Over time, your pages may earn both strong organic rank and AI citation presence

In a generative search landscape, the winning formula is hybrid: a page that ranks organically and is cited as the answer.

Take the Lead with Answer Engine Optimisation

The landscape of search is evolving fast. In 2025 and beyond, being merely “ranked on page one” is not enough. To remain competitive, your content must be citation-worthy to AI systems.

By applying these 10 strategies, you can position your brand and content to dominate AI-powered SERPs.

Ready to secure your visibility in AI-powered search? Get in touch with Saigon Digital today!