AI Overviews, AEO, and LLM Search: A Montana Business Owner's Guide

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization — the practice of making your content show up in AI-generated answers. It's related to SEO but with important differences.

SEO traditionally optimizes for ranking in a list of blue links. AEO optimizes for being cited or summarized in an AI-generated answer that a user reads instead of clicking.

Both still matter — most users now see AI answers AND blue links. But the techniques are slightly different, and the businesses that adapt early are the ones AI engines learn to cite first.

When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Google's AI Mode a question, the AI:

1. **Performs a web search** for relevant content (often through Bing, Google, or a custom index).

2. **Reads the top results.** Usually 10-30 pages.

3. **Synthesizes an answer** from the most relevant, clearly-written, factual content.

4. **Cites the sources** it used (in most engines).

Your goal as a business is to be one of the sources the AI reads and cites. That means writing content that AI engines can easily understand, extract, and trust.

**Direct answers to specific questions.** AI engines love content structured as Q&A or with clear question headings followed by direct answers.

**Specific, factual content.** Numbers, dates, locations, prices, ranges. Vague marketing copy is invisible to AI engines.

**Clear structure.** Headings, lists, tables. AI engines parse structured content better than walls of text.

**Recency.** AI engines weight recent content more heavily. Update important pages periodically.

**Authority signals.** Reviews, mentions on other sites, structured business data (Google Business Profile, etc.).

**Schema.org structured data.** Behind-the-scenes metadata that tells AI engines what your content is about. Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, and Article schemas are the most useful.

1. **Claim and complete your Google Business Profile.** Hours, services, photos, posts. Updated quarterly.

2. **Add an FAQ section** to your homepage and major service pages. Use real questions your customers ask, with direct factual answers.

3. **Add LocalBusiness schema** to your website (most modern sites support this).

4. **Create location-specific pages** if you serve multiple areas. 'AI consulting in Billings' should be its own page from 'AI consulting in Bozeman.'

5. **Create industry-specific pages** if you serve distinct industries. Each gets its own detailed page.

6. **Write content that answers specific questions.** 'How much does an AI consultant cost in Montana?' is a question someone might ask AI; if your page answers it directly, you may be cited.

7. **Get reviews** on Google, Yelp, and industry-specific platforms. AI engines weight reviewed businesses more heavily.

8. **Get mentioned on authoritative sites.** Local news, industry publications, professional associations. Each citation strengthens your AI visibility.

9. **Add an llms.txt file** to your website. A small file at /llms.txt that tells AI crawlers what your site is about and where to read more.

10. **Keep content fresh.** Updated pages perform better than stale ones. Quarterly review of your most important content is a good rhythm.

**Keyword stuffing.** AI engines see through this. Write naturally, for humans.

**Generic, vague content.** 'We provide best-in-class solutions for your business needs' is invisible to AI. 'We charge $1,500-$4,000 for a starter AI project in Montana' gets cited.

**Long, unbroken text walls.** Hard for AI to extract specific answers from.

**Out-of-date prices, hours, or services.** AI may cite stale information, which damages trust.

**Hiding important information behind images, PDFs, or video without transcripts.** AI engines mostly read text. Make sure your facts are in text form.