Optimize AEO is a publication about Answer Engine Optimization — the discipline of getting content cited, paraphrased, and surfaced by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews.
The site is run by Charles Morris. I write the guides, build the tools, and answer the email.
Why this site exists
Search is splitting in two. One half stays a list of links. The other half is an answer, generated on the fly, that may or may not point at you. The optimization stack for the second half doesn’t exist yet — most of what gets called “AEO” online is recycled SEO advice with a fresh coat of paint.
This site is a slower, more careful attempt: free tools that produce correct artifacts, and writing that distinguishes what we know from what we’re guessing.
What you’ll find here
Guides — long-form, regularly-updated explanations. Versioned, dated, revised when reality changes. Read these first if you’re new to the field.
Journal — shorter pieces. Field notes from real testing, tutorials, references, case studies, and opinions on how AI answer engines actually behave.
Tools — free utilities that run in your browser. No signup, no API keys, no data collection. Build a schema markup block, generate an llms.txt file, validate your AI crawler config.
Glossary — definitions of the terms used across the site, written without padding.
How this site is funded
Optimize AEO runs ads. They pay the hosting and fund the time it takes to keep the guides accurate. There is no sponsored content — guides and journal entries are not influenced by advertisers, and reviews are not paid placements. If a tool I recommend is one I personally use, I’ll say so.
Getting in touch
Questions, corrections, or things you’d like to see covered: support@optimizeaeo.io
Comments and disagreements are welcome on individual articles. Read the comment policy below.
Comment policy
Comments are moderated by a human. Be specific, cite when you can, push back if you disagree. Drive-by takes get removed.