Definition
AEO (answer engine optimization) is writing and structuring content so that search engines and AI assistants can lift a direct answer from it. The goal is not only that your page is found, but that the answer in it is picked up: in a featured snippet, in the People Also Ask block, by a voice assistant or in an AI answer with a source reference.
The term is older than GEO and comes from the era of featured snippets and voice search. Back then it was already clear that Google picks up a passage that answers the question in one or two sentences, preferably right under a heading that asks the question. That same logic now applies to generative engines: they cut pages into passages and pick the passage that answers the question most directly.
In practice, AEO means a few fixed habits. Open every page and every section with the answer instead of a run-up. Use headings that ask the question the way people ask it. Keep answers compact, factual and self-contained, so they can be understood without the rest of the page. Use lists and tables for steps and comparisons, and add FAQ schema for question-and-answer pairs so the structure is unambiguous to machines too.
AEO, GEO and LLMO overlap heavily. AEO is the writing discipline (answer first), GEO the broader goal (being mentioned and cited in generated answers) and LLMO the brand part (what models know about you). Whoever does AEO well has already done most of the content work for GEO.