Guides: getting your business found and cited in AI answers

AEO, or answer engine optimization, is making your business easy for AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to find, read and name in their answers. What it is, how it differs from SEO and GEO, and what to do first.

The 11 weighted checks AEO Pro uses to score a website out of 100 for AI search: crawler access, same page for people and AI, content without JavaScript, structured data, FAQPage, meta descriptions, sitemap, language, canonical, Open Graph and llms.txt.

The common reasons ChatGPT and other AI assistants leave a business out of their answers, from blocked crawlers to thin service pages, and what to fix first.

How to find out why AI assistants name your competitors instead of you: compare what their pages say, who mentions them and what AI crawlers can read, then fix the gaps.

Why AI assistants repeat outdated hours, prices or services, and how to correct the sources they read: your site, your Google Business Profile and directories.

How to check whether your website blocks ChatGPT, Claude or other AI crawlers: robots.txt rules, firewall and security-plugin blocks, and pages that are empty without JavaScript.

How your Google Business Profile matters for AI answers about local businesses, why it must match your website, and what to keep consistent.

What Google’s AI Overviews draw on, why a local business may be left out, and what to check: indexing, page content, structured data and your Google Business Profile.

What structured data (schema.org) can and cannot do for AI answers, which types a local business needs, and the one rule that matters: only mark up what the page shows.

llms.txt is a short plain-text summary of your website for AI tools. What goes in it, how much it matters today, and how to add one in a few minutes.

GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended are for AI training; OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and Bingbot feed AI search. What blocking each one does, and a safe robots.txt for a local business.

What AI assistants look at when they name local businesses: pages they can read, sources that mention you, consistent facts, and the question itself. Plus why the answer changes from run to run.

What happens in the first days, weeks and months of answer engine optimization, why fixes take time to show up in AI answers, and how to measure progress honestly.

What answer engine optimization costs a small business: doing it yourself, AI visibility software and agencies, what each price includes, and the exact AEO Pro prices ($49 and $199 a month).

The four kinds of AEO tools a small business can choose from, what each one does and does not do, the questions to ask any vendor, and where AEO Pro fits.

How AEO Pro turns an AI-readiness score into website changes: a work order with code to paste, a live check of every fix, optional one-CNAME connection, versioned changes with automatic rollback, and no cloaking.

AEO and AI visibility tools for small businesses compared by job: trackers like Otterly.AI, Peec AI and HubSpot AEO, local listing tools, and fix-and-verify software like AEO Pro. Prices checked November 4, 2026.

AEO Pro is billed monthly with no contract, can be cancelled online in one click, and every payment can be refunded within 30 days. What is included at $49 and $199 a month.

How to tell a real answer engine optimization tool or service from a scam: ranking guarantees, single screenshots, hidden contracts, cloaking and other red flags.

Patients ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI for a dentist near them. What AI tools need from a dental practice website to name it, the questions worth answering, and what to check first.

People ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which immigration lawyer to hire, often in Spanish. What AI tools need from a law firm website to name it, the questions worth answering, and what to check first.

Clients ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which med spa to call. What AI tools need from a med spa website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Homeowners ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which HVAC to call. What AI tools need from a HVAC company website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Homeowners ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which plumbing to call. What AI tools need from a plumbing business website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Patients ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which chiropractic to call. What AI tools need from a chiropractic practice website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

People ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which personal injury law to call. What AI tools need from a law firm website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Buyers and sellers ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which real estate to call. What AI tools need from a real estate business website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Parents and patients ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which orthodontic to call. What AI tools need from a orthodontic practice website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.

Small-business owners ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI which accounting to call. What AI tools need from a accounting firm website to name it, the questions worth answering, and common problems to fix.