GLOSSARY · A
AEO (answer engine optimisation)
Making your store the source that ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews cite when answering.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters for a Shopify store.
Shoppers increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews which product to buy. If your store isn't a source those answers draw on, it isn't in the conversation.
AEO builds on SEO: crawlable pages, clear facts, structured data and content that answers real questions in plain language.
HOW CREATIVE LABS HANDLES IT
What we do about it on every project.
01
Check what AI says today
We ask the main assistants the questions your buyers ask and record which brands and pages they cite.
02
Make facts easy to quote
Specs, materials, sizing, shipping and returns written as clear statements, backed by schema markup.
03
Publish answer content
Comparison pages, buying guides and FAQs that answer one question well, linked from the products they describe.
EXAMPLE
A typical example.
A cookware brand finds AI assistants recommend competitors for "best non-toxic frying pan".
Its product pages gain clear material and coating facts, a buying guide answers the question directly, and the brand starts appearing among the cited sources.
COMMON MISTAKES
What usually goes wrong.
Treating it as a separate channel
AI answers lean on the same crawlable, well-structured pages that rank in search.
Blocking AI crawlers by accident
Some robots.txt templates and security tools block the crawlers that feed these answers.
Writing for keywords, not questions
Answer engines quote clear sentences, not keyword-stuffed paragraphs.
AEO
2 questions
Is AEO different from SEO?
It's an extension of it. The foundations are the same; AEO adds a focus on being quoted in generated answers.
How can I see if AI tools mention my store?
Ask them the questions your customers ask, or run our free SEO & AEO checker.
You've reached the end, so now…
Tell us what you're selling.
Send us your store. Within one business day you get a short Loom from a senior: the three things we'd fix first, what it would cost, and whether we're the right team for it.
- No pitch deck, no discovery-call theatre
- You keep the audit whether or not you hire us
- Fixed-scope quotes, no hourly surprises
Prefer to talk? Book 20 minutes with Haniel or call +1 855-764-4977