HOW TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITES GET RECOMMENDED BY AI.

The switch from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to AEO (AI Engine Optimization)

In the past we used to do SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but for our websites to rank highest on Google, but nowadays most people use AI for research and recommendations thus making developers optimize their websites to be recommended by AI like ChatGPT, Gemini… 

Here are steps to make your website get the most recommendation or suggestions by AI;

1. Ensure  that basic Search Engine Optimization is strong; your website should be fast, mobile friendly, well structured & have strong backlinks.
2. Create new content in your website in a question and answer format written by humans and not generated by AI; this is because human written content carries more weight and is seen to be more trustworthy compared to AI generated content. By structuring your articles as questions and answers,  it makes it easier for AI to map the users questions and answers directly to your content.
3. Add content to questions and answers websites like Reddit.com and Quora.com; especially now with OpenAI partnership with Reddit, creating posts on reddit and getting more upvotes make it more likely to be recommended by ChatGPT. 
4. Add llms.txt files into your website; think of it as leaving a short note for AI when it visits your website(s) (here’s what my site does, here are my key pages, and how you should interpret them). Always keep the llms.txt files updated.
5. Don’t block the AI crawler; check you setting and configuration and make sure your site isn’t hidden so that AI crawlers are able to access your website.
6. Track your traffics; with either tools you are using e.g. Google Analytics, chack how much traffic is coming from different AI models, measure progress and adjust accordingly.  

• Traditional SEO: Focused on ranking a link on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The user clicks through and experiences your website directly.
• AEO (AI Engine Optimization): Focuses on having your content chosen as the primary source for an AI’s synthesized answer. The user may never visit your site, so the value must be embedded in the information itself. The goal is to become a trusted source that the AI “cites” in its responses. This makes factors like authority, accuracy, and clear sourcing more critical than ever.

Go Beyond Q&A: Structure for “Information Snippets”

While a Q&A format is excellent, you must also structure your content for easy extraction. AI models “read” to find the most relevant piece of information to answer a prompt.

• Use Clear Headers and Subheaders: Structure your content with descriptive H2s and H3s (e.g., “H2: Benefits of AEO,” “H3: Improved Brand Authority”). This acts as a roadmap for the AI.
• Employ Schema Markup (Structured Data): This is a powerful, standardized code you add to your website to explicitly tell search engines and AI crawlers what your content is about. For instance, you can mark up a recipe, a product, an article, or a FAQ page. This makes it trivially easy for an AI to understand and extract key data points like ingredients, prices, author names, and published dates.
• Utilize Bulleted and Numbered Lists: AIs can easily pull key points from well-structured lists to form part of a summarized answer.
• Include a Clear Summary or TL;DR: At the top or bottom of long-form articles, include a concise summary of key takeaways. This section is highly likely to be used by an AI for a quick, accurate answer.

Establish E-E-A-T with a Focus on “Experience”

Google has long emphasized E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) for SEO. For AEO, the “Experience” component is becoming paramount.

• Demonstrate First-Hand Experience: AI training data is flooded with theoretical content. Content that showcases real-world, practical experience stands out. Use phrases like “In our tests…,” “Based on our case study…,” or “We found that…” and back them up with original data, photos, or videos.
• Showcase Author Credentials: Clearly list author bios that highlight their real-world experience and qualifications. Link to their professional profiles (e.g., LinkedIn). This builds the “Expertise” and “Authoritativeness” signals that AIs are trained to recognize.
• Cite Reputable Sources: When you make a claim, link out to other high-authority websites and studies. This shows the AI that you do your research and are part of a trustworthy information ecosystem.

Understand and Leverage AI Partnerships and Data Licensing

The Reddit-OpenAI partnership you mentioned is a key example of a larger trend.

• The Rise of “Synthetics” Traffic: Traffic from AI platforms is often referred to as “synthetics” in analytics. It’s not a human visitor, but an AI bot ingesting your content. Don’t ignore this—it’s a sign your AEO is working.
• Future-Proofing with Data Licensing: Some companies are now exploring direct data licensing agreements with AI firms. While not feasible for most, it highlights the value of unique, high-quality data. Building a brand known for proprietary research or data puts you in a powerful position for such future partnerships.

A Practical Example: Traditional SEO vs. AEO in Action

Let’s imagine a user asks an AI: “What’s the best way to prune a rose bush?”

• SEO-Optimized Page (Old Way): Might have a title “The Ultimate Guide to Pruning Roses” and focus on keyword density for “rose pruning.” It ranks high on Google, the user clicks, and scrolls through ads and images to find the steps.
• AEO-Optimized Page (New Way): Has a title “How to Prune Rose Bushes: A Step-by-Step Guide.” It uses clear H2 headers like “When to Prune Roses,” “Tools You Will Need,” and “Step-by-Step Pruning Instructions.” The steps are in a numbered list. It includes schema markup defining the article and its author (a master gardener). The AI can easily extract the clear, step-by-step instructions and present them directly to the user, possibly citing your website as the source.

Conclusion: The Future is Being the Source

The era of simply driving clicks is evolving. The new goal is to become the indispensable source of truth for both users and the AIs that serve them. By combining the technical foundations of strong SEO with the new, content-centric strategies of AEO—emphasizing clarity, experience, and trust—you can position your website not just to be found, but to be recommended.