Content is at the heart of AEO because answer engines rely on clear, structured information to generate responses. While SEO content is often built around keywords and site health, AEO requires content that answers questions directly, uses schema so machines can read it, and is supported by cross platform promotion so your brand is mentioned in the sources LLMs scan. Focusing on content ensures your business is visible not just in search results but in the answers buyers are receiving from AI systems.
Answer Engine Optimisation
Research is changing. As more consumers move to asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude for buying advice businesses need to move their visibility from human readers, to machine crawlers.
What is Agentic Search?
An Agentic search is when a user researches a topic within an AI answer platform like ChatGPT, otherwise known as a search agent. These platforms are also commonly known as Answer Engines, as they are very good at surfacing the answers people need to specific questions.
Answer Engines are designed in a chat interface so you can easily ask the LLM (Large Language Model) questions through a type interaction. You can input voice data, and even images, which the agent converts to text. In the case of a voice note it transcribes the voice data into words. For images, it writes a written description of what it 'sees'.
01. One question, multiple queries
In traditional search one question would return multiple results, with the most relevant one (according to Google) ranking at the top. Users would click the result and read the resulting content. Agentic search takes your single question, splits that out into multiple related queries, returns relevant results, and compiles that into a cohesive response.
02. Personalised searches
Agents, like ChatGPT, memorise previous questions to establish a profile on you as an individual. This assists in returning hyper-personalised responses to your query. For example, you may have previously asked what you could buy your 7-year-old son for his birthday. When you ask it for recommendations on holiday destinations ChatGPT may prioritise responses that are family-friendly, or include entertainment for a child of his age. While Search Engines would tailor results based on your IP location, or previous search history it wouldn't build a profile on your preferences.
03. Succinct
AI agents understand that you're seeking answers. Have you noticed that their responses go straight to the point? That's because they will summarise relevant content into a cohesive and relevant response. In contrast traditional Search Engine results would guide you to content that you must digest directly to form an understanding of the options.
04. Efficiency
Agentic searches cut corners when pulling content for its responses. The energy that would be required to crawl the entire internet, parse the data, condense and synthesise it into a response and return it would be massive. AI takes shortcuts by conducting very focused searches, then it chunks the results to identify patterns, and places them into a multi-dimensional vector to create a number-based system for relevance to the query. While traditional search looks for keywords, agentic search looks for patterns.
05. Omni-channel
Part of that pattern recognition involves indexing content outside of website pages. Domain authority, while important, isn't the only signal of value. Agentic searches will crawl video, social posts, review platforms, and websites to find the most relevant answer for their users.
06. Different metrics
Agentic search results in fewer clicks to cited websites. But the traffic it generates convert faster, and spend more. Businesses focusing on agentic search look for increased visibility in agentic searches, rather than traffic from AI platforms. They want to influence the information gathering and decision-making, and increase their visibility over the competition.
Why is AEO important?
Effective AEO increases your visibility in answer engine results. This is important for businesses seeking growth, and to secure marketing position.
Why? Because by being part of the response you get a chance to earn traffic from prospects seeking solutions. You increase brand visibility by being referenced (cited) as a source for the information and, more importantly, you reduce the chance of your competition succeeding in doing the same. AEO is important because it helps you educate prospects on their options, and guide them to a relevant solution.
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) Services
Much like traditional SEO services AEO requires several technical optimisations to your website to increase your chances of ranking. Unlike SEO we don't target specific keywords to seek an improved rank. AEO services focus on being across many more sources, and include the following activities, and more.
Social signal management
Your presence where your customers ask questions is vital to good AEO. Not only is it beneficial for your brand to be mentioned as a valid option for users seeking the input of their peers, but these platforms are excellent research spaces.
Using your presence on social platforms to be involved in discussions and identify trending topics is important to the success of AEO.
We help monitor these platforms, and use our insights to direct your strategy.
Structuring your data
Your website needs to be structured in a way that makes it easy for search agents to find the data it needs. While much of this is back-end technical structuring, it also includes your entire sitemap, and the layout of each page.
Agents don't like to hunt around for information as they need to return a quick response. Making it easier for them to find relevant information is important if you want to be rendered in AI search results.
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Search Engine Optimisation
Good Answer Engine Optimisation relies on your Search Engine performance being strong. After all, Answer engines are searching Google to find responses first.
Our AEO services include SEO to ensure these bases are covered. We then layer on Answer Engine Optimisation to ensure success.
Content creation
Answer Engines are answering questions users have. To appear as a citation in these results it's important that you provide answers to these questions. This is best done in blog format.
In addition to answer-focused blogs you need video content, social media posts, responses on Reddit, and more. AI searches more platforms than ever to find the best responses for its users. You need to be present on them all.
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Answer Engine Reporting
After all of this effort you need to ensure you're seeing the required results. AEO works differently to SEO in that you don't get volumes of direct traffic when it's done well. Instead, you get brand awareness as an expert thanks to citations. You get increased visibility with prospects researching their options. The traffic you do get is highly educated, and ready to buy resulting in less sales friction and higher conversion rates.
Answer Engine Optimisation Pricing
Every business's competitive landscape is different and while most programmes will be customised we've included an indication of pricing here to help you plan for growth. In all examples SEO services are included in the pricing as they are key foundational activities for AEO.
01
SME AEO Services
Built around businesses with a revenue of between $5m and $20m this focuses on thought-leadership and educational content.
This level of investment will focus on industry-specific and niche content to discover gaps left by larger organisations.
Ballpark monthly cost:
$7,000+
02
Enterprise AEO Services
Businesses with revenues between $20m and $80m will have numerous product lines, varying Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and more internal experts to draw from.
In many cases these organisations can handle some content generation internally, but there are higher volumes to optimise.
Ballpark monthly cost:
$12,000+
03
Custom AEO Services
Businesses larger than $80m, with multiple markets and a leadership position to maintain often seek a broader scope of support.
They seek frequent updates to ensure AEO content is relevant and being surfaced. They need additional reporting and monitoring.
Ballpark monthly cost:
$23,000+
Trust our team of experts
Based in New Zealand, Vanguard 86 is a certified Google Partner specialising in top-tier SEO and AEO services nationwide and in Australia.
Our team includes dedicated experts in AEO and SEO strategy, copywriting, programming, and advertising, collaborating to enhance your online visibility and drive targeted traffic to your website.
Whether you aim to outrank competitors for specific search terms or increase traffic to newly launched products or services, you can rely on our expertise to achieve optimal results.
Ready to take your SEO efforts to the next level?
If you like what you've seen so far then it could be worth chatting about your SEO. For an exploratory call where we'll work out whether we're a good fit for you simply send us some basic details using the form and we'll get back in touch within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Which platforms do you optimise for?
Google AI Overviews, Bing and Copilot, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and any agent that cites sources. We also optimise YouTube, Reddit, and review sites when they influence answers.
Why do I need to focus on content for AEO?
How is AEO measured?
AEO is measured through visibility in answer engines rather than just traffic. We track citations in AI platforms where available, monitor impressions and clicks from AI-exposed pages, and report on assisted conversions and branded visibility growth. This gives a clearer picture of how often your business is included in the research process.
Will AEO replace SEO?
No. AEO builds on SEO and both are essential. SEO ensures your site is technically sound and optimised for search results, while AEO makes your content accessible and trustworthy for AI systems. Together they maximise visibility across both traditional search and new AI-driven channels.
Does AEO work for all industries?
Yes, AEO applies across industries because answer engines pull from many sources when generating responses. The difference is in how we shape the content: for B2B and professional services it often means detailed guides and FAQs, while for product-led businesses it includes comparisons, reviews, and specifications. Every industry benefits from clear answers, structured data, and cross platform visibility.