Answer engine optimization is not new. Google has answered queries directly on search results pages since 2014 when it launched featured snippets, and a year later with “People also ask.”
Now, with the rise of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and other generative AI platforms, optimizing content to appear in those answers as sources or citations is crucial.
Here’s how.
Research questions
Start with understanding the questions of your target audience.
- Monitor dialogue and feedback. Keep an eye on Reddit and similar social sites for discussions of your products and company. Track direct customer support queries. Whatever shoppers share on social media and with internal support is likely what they ask on search engines and genAI.
Journeys, not keywords
Don’t try to answer all the questions you’ve identified. Respond instead to specific problems.
Gemini can reveal questions tailored to clear-cut needs. Upload a CSV keyword file and prompt:
List questions that people searching for these keywords may find helpful.
For example, I uploaded a list of keywords for vacationing in Fort Myers, Florida. Gemini suggested highly relevant questions of likely travelers to that locale currently.
- What is the current status of hurricane rebuilds in Fort Myers Beach?
- How many restaurants, shops, and attractions have reopened?
- What areas are best for tourists?
- What construction projects, if any, might affect my stay?
Those could be the exact questions of would-be vacationers.
Answer clearly, concisely
Generative AI platforms source clear, well-structured (“chunked”) answers from Q&A formats. To optimize your on-page content:
- Ask a question
- Immediately follow with a sentence-long answer that’s clear, factual, and easy to understand.
Create separate Q&A sections (or takeaways and conclusions) that help both humans and AI bots.
Multiple studies and experiments have shown that large language models respond to Q&A formats. A recent study intentionally provided contradictory answers to a single question. The LLM selected the correct answer (on a relevant website) when it immediately followed the query.
Use FAQ Schema
AI platforms rely heavily on structured data markup, such as from Schema.org, which helps understand web pages and their content. Free online tools can generate FAQPage schema.