Quick answer
AI assistants recommend stores they can read and trust. Answer engine optimisation means stating clearly what you sell and where you deliver, answering real questions in FAQs, using structured data for products, prices and reviews, collecting genuine reviews, being mentioned on other sites, letting AI crawlers in, and offering an llms.txt summary.
AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude recommend shops when they can find clear, consistent, trustworthy information about them. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the work of making that easy: saying plainly what you sell, who for and where you deliver; answering real customer questions on your pages; marking up products, prices and reviews with structured data; earning mentions and reviews elsewhere; and letting AI crawlers read your site. Nobody can guarantee a recommendation, but these steps give you a fair chance.
If you are new to search, read our SEO guide for a new store's first 90 days first. AEO builds on the same foundations.
What is AEO, and how is it different from SEO?
Traditional SEO aims to rank a page in a list of links. AEO aims to be the answer, or part of it, when someone asks a question such as "where can I buy handloom cotton sarees online that deliver to Pune?" or "good gift hamper shops in Bengaluru". The assistant reads many sources, then writes an answer that may mention a few shops.
Most of what helps AEO also helps SEO. The difference is emphasis: AEO rewards pages that answer questions directly, facts that are stated consistently everywhere, and evidence that real people trust you.
How do AI assistants decide which shops to recommend?
Each assistant works differently and they change often, but they generally draw on:
- Web search results fetched when you ask, so normal search visibility matters.
- Your own pages, if their crawlers can read them.
- Other sites that mention you: local news, blogs, directories, marketplaces, social profiles.
- Reviews and ratings on your site and on platforms like Google.
- Structured data that states facts such as product, price, availability and business details in a machine-readable way.
An assistant is more confident recommending a shop when the same facts (name, what it sells, where it is, how to buy) appear in several places and agree with each other.
What should you do on your own website?
1. Say plainly what you are
Your home page and About page should answer, in the first lines: what you sell, what makes it different, who it is for, where you are based and where you deliver. "Handwoven Kanchipuram silk and cotton sarees from Kanchipuram, delivered across India and abroad" is far more useful to a machine (and a person) than "Timeless elegance for every occasion".
2. Answer real questions
Collect the questions customers ask on WhatsApp and Instagram, and answer them on your site: on product pages, in an FAQ page, and in blog posts. Good examples: "Do you deliver to Sri Lanka?", "Is this saree suitable for a wedding?", "How do I wash a Chanderi dupatta?". Write the answer in the first sentence, then the detail.
3. Make product pages complete
Material, size, care, who it suits, delivery time, returns. Our guide to product descriptions that sell covers this. An assistant cannot recommend a product for "a 10-year-old who loves science" if the page never says what age it suits.
4. Use structured data
Structured data (schema markup) tells machines, for example, "this is a product, this is its price, it is in stock, and buyers have rated it". It also describes your business and your FAQs.
5. Let AI crawlers in, and offer llms.txt
Some sites block AI crawlers in their robots file. If you want to be recommended, allow them. An llms.txt file is a short, plain summary of your site for AI assistants: who you are, your main pages, your key facts. It is a newer convention; not every assistant uses it, but it costs nothing.
What does UpMinutes set up for you?
| AEO element | In UpMinutes |
|---|---|
| Titles and descriptions | Set up automatically, editable |
| Structured data | Products with price, stock and reviews; business; FAQ |
| Sitemaps | With photos, kept up to date |
| llms.txt | A summary for AI assistants, created for you |
| AI crawlers | Allowed |
| Reviews | Verified-buyer reviews, with review requests after delivery |
| Health check | An SEO health score that flags gaps |
What the platform cannot do is write your answers or earn your reputation. That part is yours.
What does a good AEO answer look like on a page?
Here is a pattern that works for an FAQ or a product page. Say you sell handmade soaps:
Are your soaps suitable for sensitive skin? Our unscented oatmeal and goat-milk soaps are made without added fragrance and are the ones most customers with sensitive skin choose. Every soap lists its full ingredients on the product page, so check for anything you react to. If you are unsure, start with our travel-size bar.
Notice the shape: a direct answer in the first sentence, the specific products, the honest caveat, and a next step. Assistants can lift the first sentence as an answer and still point people to you for the detail. Avoid answers that promise medical results, quote made-up figures, or claim to be "the best"; they hurt trust with people and machines alike.
What mistakes hurt your chances?
- Different facts in different places: old phone numbers, a former address, products you no longer sell.
- Thin pages: a product page with a photo, a price and nothing else gives an assistant nothing to quote.
- Hidden policies: delivery areas and returns buried in an image or a PDF.
- Keyword stuffing: repeating "best saree shop in India" helps nobody and reads badly.
- Fake reviews: they break platform rules and consumer law, and they destroy trust when spotted.
What should you do off your website?
- Google Business Profile. Keep name, address, hours, phone and website identical to your site. See our guide to Google Business Profile for shops.
- Reviews. Ask every happy customer, every time. Our post on getting more product reviews has scripts.
- Mentions. Local press, craft and food bloggers, gift guides, trade association directories. One genuine article that describes what you do is valuable.
- Consistent social profiles. Same name, same description, link to your website.
- Answer in public. Helpful answers in community forums and groups, where allowed, without spamming.
What about languages and voice?
People increasingly ask assistants questions by voice and in Indian languages. A storefront in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada gives assistants content to match those questions. Read more in our post on voice and vernacular search.
How do you check whether it is working?
- Ask several assistants the questions your customers would ask, and note whether you appear and what they say. Repeat monthly.
- If an assistant gets a fact wrong (old address, wrong products), fix it on your site and Business Profile; corrections take time to flow through.
- Watch your analytics for visits from AI assistants and search; referrers vary.
- Track questions customers mention: "I found you on ChatGPT" is worth noting.
A short AEO checklist
- Home and About pages say what, who, where and delivery area in plain words.
- FAQ page built from real customer questions.
- Complete product pages with specifics.
- Structured data for products, reviews, business and FAQs.
- AI crawlers allowed; llms.txt in place.
- Google Business Profile matches your site exactly.
- A steady flow of genuine reviews.
- Monthly check of what assistants say about you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT or Gemini?
Recommendations in normal answers are not something you can simply buy. Clear information, good reviews and mentions on other sites are what give you a chance.
What is llms.txt?
It is a short plain-text summary of your website written for AI assistants, listing who you are, key facts and main pages. It is a newer convention, and not every assistant reads it.
Does AEO replace SEO?
No. AI assistants often rely on search results and the same page signals, so good SEO remains the foundation. AEO adds emphasis on direct answers and consistent facts.
Should I block AI crawlers to protect my content?
That is a business choice. If you want assistants to recommend you, they need to be able to read your pages, so most stores allow them.
