AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation)

Be the answer that AI recommends.

We help your brand be visible in the next generation of search.

From structured data and authoritative content, to optimisation for Google’s Search Generative Experience and voice assistants, we make sure your brand is surfaced by AI-driven search platforms.

AEO for business impact

The way people search is changing.

Instead of entering keywords and scrolling through links, customers are now asking AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews specific questions – and receiving structured answers that explain, compare and recommend.

These platforms don’t simply rank websites. They interpret the web, selecting the most relevant, credible sources to build their response. If your business isn’t clearly understood and trusted by these systems, you risk being left out.

AI platforms rely on the same foundations that drive SEO – strong technical performance, clear structure and high-quality, credible content. But AEO goes a step further. It requires your content, data and digital presence to be structured in a way that AI can interpret, connect and confidently use – including elements such as natural language content, structured data (schema), and clear authority signals.

Done well, AEO ensures your business is not just visible, but selected, summarised and trusted.

Why is it important?

Over 40% of search queries are now conversational – people asking questions, not just typing keywords.

In B2B and industrial sectors, this shift is even more pronounced. Buyers are exploring complex topics, comparing options and looking for clear, trustworthy answers, often before they ever visit a website.

Without a clear AEO approach, your business may still rank, but fail to appear in the answers your customers are actually reading. And if you’re not in the answer, you’re missing opportunities.

A structured AEO approach helps you:

Be included in AI-generated answers.

Ensure your business is surfaced when platforms generate responses.

Control how your business is represented

Reduce the risk of inaccurate or incomplete summaries.

Build authority through AI citation

Being referenced as a source reinforces trust early in the journey.

Capture early-stage demand

Be present when prospects are defining problems and exploring solutions.

Support complex decision-making

Provide structured, explainable content AI can confidently use.

Stay aligned with how search is evolving

Ensure your visibility keeps pace with changing user behaviour.

What You’ll Get

We design and structure your digital presence for AI discovery, ensuring your business is clearly understood, accurately represented and consistently surfaced.

Our work combines technical implementation, content structuring and brand alignment, creating a strong, machine-readable foundation.

AI visibility and entity audit

Understanding how AI platforms interpret your brand – identifying gaps in clarity, authority and consistency.

Structured data and schema implementation

Deploying schema markup to define relationships between your services, expertise and content – improving machine readability.

Conversational and answer-led content structuring

Designing content around real user questions – making it easier for AI to extract, summarise and present.

Entity and knowledge graph development

Strengthening how your business is connected across your website, profiles and third-party sources, reinforcing authority signals.

Brand authority alignment (E-E-A-T)

Ensuring your expertise, tone and credibility are consistently reflected – strengthening trust signals used by AI platforms.

AI monitoring and optimisation

Tracking how your business appears across AI platforms and refining your presence as models evolve.

Why choose Herron?

AEO encompasses brand, content, technical structure and advanced user behaviour. It’s about making your expertise clear, credible and structured, so it can be understood and trusted by people and AI.

That’s where we’re different. We’re not just a search agency.

Our background in brand, design and digital means we shape information for people first – and therefore for AI – combining the human needs for clarity, structure and credibility, with the technical foundations that drive visibility.

Proven in complex B2B sectors

We work with organisations where products, services and decision-making processes are complex. That means we know how to structure information in a way that makes it easier to understand, compare and explain – both for users and for AI systems interpreting your content.

Senior expertise, hands-on delivery

You’ll work directly with experienced specialists across brand, content and digital. This ensures your business is not only technically optimised for AEO, but clearly positioned, consistently expressed and grounded in real expertise.

Partners for the long term

AEO is evolving quickly as AI platforms develop. We help you stay aligned – refining your content, structure and signals over time so your business continues to be accurately represented and recommended.

Joined-up thinking

Our brand, web and marketing teams work as one. That means your AEO is shaped by how your brand is expressed, how your website is structured, how your content is created and how your data is interpreted – ensuring consistency across both human and AI-driven journeys.

Who We Work With

Our sweet spot is industrial and manufacturing B2B – businesses with complex products, technical detail and long buying cycles. In these environments, AI is increasingly used to simplify complexity and compare options.

We also work with professional services firms where credibility, clarity and reputation are key.

Testimonials

Everything’s increased since we commissioned Herron – customer enquiries, how much we export, the productivity of our staff and profit. Our website & marketing materials have never worked harder – and the sales figures prove it.

Keith Stewart
HEROSE UK

The service from the team at Herron has been second-to-none. We get compliments on the website all the time — it really showcases what we can do and has led to gaining new clients in the UK and overseas.

Josh Kershaw
Furniss & White

Having Paul and Herron on the journey with us and working collaboratively with our team has been invaluable — and hopefully we can continue that relationship going forward.

Ryan Lockwood
Fernco

Today’s casting industry is modern and dynamic — we need to reflect our members as vital solution providers to global advanced manufacturing. Working with Paul and his team helped CMF overhaul the way we communicate.

Dr. Pam Murrell
Cast Metals Federation

Our approach

Our approach to AEO is focused on building a clear, credible and machine-readable representation of your business – combining brand clarity, structured data, authority signals and real-world performance insight:

1. Discovery

Analysing how AI platforms and large language models (LLMs) currently interpret your brand – identifying gaps in entity definition, content clarity, authority signals and backlink profile.

2. Design

Defining the conversational queries, content structures and technical frameworks required to support AI interpretation, including natural language patterns, schema, entity relationships and authority-building strategy.

3. Build

Implementing structured data, refining content and strengthening your entity footprint – alongside developing credible authority signals such as backlinks, citations and external references.

4. Optimise

Testing and refining against live AI outputs – monitoring how your business is surfaced, cited and summarised, and continuously improving authority, visibility and performance over time.

Frequently asked questions

Got a few questions about how we work or what to expect? You’re not alone – here are some of the most common things we get asked about our AEO service:

Do I need a different website for AEO?

No. AEO is about how your current website is structured and the data hidden in your code. We refine your existing site to make it "AI-friendly" without changing your brand's look and feel.

How do you track AEO results?

We monitor "Share of Model"- how often AI platforms cite your brand compared to competitors - alongside traditional metrics like featured snippets and conversational search traffic.

Is AI search really replacing traditional Google?

It’s not replacing it, but it is changing it. Google’s "Search Generative Experience" (SGE) now puts AI answers at the top of the page. If you aren't optimised for AEO, you're being pushed further down the screen.

What is the difference between SEO and AEO?

SEO helps you rank in a list of links on a search engine. AEO helps you become the "featured answer" or the specific recommendation given by an AI chatbot. SEO gets you onto the page; AEO gets you into the answer.

Why does AEO matter for B2B businesses?

B2B buyers often ask complex, technical questions when researching solutions. AI tools are increasingly used to explain options, compare suppliers and shape early decisions. If your business isn’t clearly understood and surfaced in those responses, you risk being overlooked before a prospect ever visits your website.