The AEO checklist: 25 answer engine optimization fixes that make pages easier for AI to quote.

Documented means the platform's own documentation states it. Improvement means it follows published guidance; on its own it does not win a citation. Experiment means research suggests it but no platform requires it. Our practice is how we would run it. No checklist makes an AI tool quote you; it removes the reasons it would not.

1. 01The page is indexed in Google.Documented
   Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Check it with Search Console's URL Inspection tool.
2. 02Nothing stops the page showing a snippet.Documented
   A nosnippet, data-nosnippet or tight max-snippet setting limits what Google can show, including in its AI features. Use them only where you mean to.
3. 03The page is not set to noindex.Documented
   A leftover noindex from a staging site keeps a page out of Search entirely, and so out of the AI features built on it.
4. 04robots.txt, your CDN and your host let Google crawl.Documented
   Google lists allowing crawling in robots.txt and by any CDN or hosting infrastructure as a basic practice. Firewall and bot-protection settings can block crawlers too.
5. 05Important pages are linked from the rest of the site.Documented
   Google asks for content that is easily findable through internal links. An orphaned page is hard for any crawler to find.
6. 06The important content is in text.Documented
   Google asks that important content is available in textual form, not only inside images, video or downloads.
7. 07OAI-SearchBot is allowed, if you want ChatGPT search.Documented
   OpenAI's publishers FAQ says to make sure you are not blocking OAI-SearchBot for your content to appear in ChatGPT search summaries. GPTBot, its training crawler, is a separate setting.
8. 08PerplexityBot is allowed, if you want Perplexity.Documented
   Perplexity's crawler guide points site owners to robots.txt settings for PerplexityBot and publishes its IP ranges.
9. 09You know what Google-Extended does, and does not, control.Documented
   Google-Extended is a control for training and grounding in some of Google's other systems, not for Search. Blocking it is a separate decision from appearing in AI Overviews.

1. 10The page is written for people first.Improvement
   Google's guidance on helpful, people-first content is the standard it applies across Search, AI features included.
2. 11It is clear who wrote it.Improvement
   Google's guidance asks readers to consider who created the content; a byline and a short note on the author's background answer that.
3. 12It shows how you know.Improvement
   First-hand experience, a method, and sources a reader can check. Google's guidance asks how the content was created.
4. 13It adds something original.Improvement
   Google's own self-assessment asks: “Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?” A page that repeats others gives an AI tool little reason to cite it.
5. 14The title and main heading say what the page answers.Improvement
   Google asks whether the main heading or page title gives a descriptive, helpful summary of the content.
6. 15Images and video support the text, where they help.Improvement
   Google lists high-quality images and videos, when applicable, among the practices for its AI features.
7. 16The page is pleasant to use.Improvement
   A great page experience is on Google's list: fast, stable and easy to read on a phone.
8. 17Structured data matches what the page shows.Improvement
   If you use structured data, Google asks that it matches the visible text on the page.
9. 18You are not paying for special AI markup.Improvement
   Google says you don't need new machine readable files, AI text files or markup, or special schema, to appear in its AI features. Spend that budget on the page instead.
10. 19You are testing sources, quotations and statistics.Experiment
    In the 2023 generative engine optimization (GEO) research paper, adding citations, quotations and statistics made content more visible in AI-written answers within its benchmark, with the gains going mostly to sources not already ranked first. Test it on your pages and record the result; it is not a Google requirement.

1. 20Your Business Profile is up to date.Documented
   Google asks that Business Profile information is up-to-date for its AI features. Hours, categories and contact details come first.
2. 21Merchant Center is current, if you sell products.Documented
   Google's list also asks for up-to-date Merchant Center information, which is where product details come from.
3. 22The business is named the same way everywhere.Improvement
   Google's guidelines for representing your business ask for the name the business uses in the real world. Use that same name, address and description on your site and your other profiles.

1. 23You read AI features traffic in Search Console.Documented
   Google says traffic from its AI features is counted in Search Console's Performance report under the Web search type.
2. 24You can see ChatGPT referrals in analytics.Documented
   ChatGPT adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to the links it sends, per OpenAI's publishers FAQ, so those visits show up as their own source.
3. 25You ask the same questions every month and write down the answers.Our practice
   AI answers change. A fixed list of the questions your customers ask, checked in each tool on a schedule, shows whether you are cited and whether the facts about you are right.

Answer engine optimization (AEO) is usually used for getting a page chosen as the direct answer; generative engine optimization (GEO) for being cited in AI-written responses. In practice they share a foundation with SEO, which is why most of this list would sit comfortably in our SEO best practices checklist. What changes is the emphasis: clear answers, checkable facts and consistent information about who you are.

If you would rather have someone run the list, our AI search optimization work starts with the access checks, because nothing else matters until those pass.