Answer Engine Optimization is about being the answer. When someone asks an AI a direct question. "What's the best fragrance-free moisturizer for eczema?". AEO is the work that makes an engine pull your product, page, or brand into its reply.
An "answer engine" responds with a synthesized answer instead of a list of links, so the optimization target changes: structure content so a model can lift a clean, self-contained answer from it. In practice that means answer-first paragraphs, clear question-style headings, schema markup, and verifiable, specific claims.
AEO overlaps heavily with Generative Engine Optimization: AEO leans toward being the direct answer to a question, while GEO is the broader practice of being mentioned and recommended across engines. Day to day the distinction is academic. The same content and structure improvements serve both.