01
Page
Readable HTML with a clear customer question.
AEO basics
Make your website easy for AI search to read.
Before an AI answer engine can reuse your answer, search systems need to crawl the page, index it, and understand the answer clearly.
Published: 23 June 2026
Research baseline
The first AEO win is not a trick
For Google and Bing, answer engine optimization starts with normal search fundamentals: helpful content, crawlable pages, clear structure, and trustworthy business facts. Files like llms.txt can be optional helpers for some tools, but they do not replace a readable website.
- Google says AI search visibility depends on the same SEO fundamentals: crawlable pages, useful content, good page experience, and control through normal Search tools.
- Google also says no special AI markup is required for AI features.
- Bing guidance points toward clear answers, structured sections, evidence, freshness, and formats like FAQs or tables when they help the user.
Motion graphic
How a page becomes answer-ready
A useful AEO page moves through four simple stages: accessible page, crawl, index, then answer source.
02
Crawl
Search bots can reach links, content, and assets.
03
Index
The page is allowed into search results.
04
Answer
The answer is easy to quote, summarize, and cite.
Answer source
Crawlable plus indexable plus clear answer equals a page AI search can understand.
Step 1
Make the page crawlable
Crawlable means search systems can reach the page and read its main content. Avoid hiding important answers behind login screens, broken links, or JavaScript-only experiences.
Step 2
Make the page indexable
Indexable means the page is allowed to appear in search. Check for accidental noindex rules, blocked robots settings, weak canonical tags, and pages missing from the sitemap.
Step 3
Make the answer snippet-ready
Snippet-ready means the answer is easy to extract. Put the direct answer near the top, use clear headings, add FAQs or tables where useful, and support claims with examples.
Implementation example
Customer question: Can an AI website help my property business qualify leads before a call?
Weak page
- Generic headline
- No direct answer
- No service area
- No FAQ or next step
AEO-ready page
- Direct answer near the top
- Clear service and location context
- FAQ, table, and internal links
- Booking CTA with human follow-up
View checklist
Technical checklist
Use this before polishing the blog copy. If these basics fail, the article will struggle no matter how good the writing is.
- Page returns 200 OK
- Not blocked by robots.txt
- No accidental noindex
- One clear H1 and useful title
- Main answer appears near the top
- Readable HTML text, not only images
- Included in sitemap
- Relevant internal links
- Works well on mobile
- Business facts are consistent
