The AEO engine that does the work for you
If you are looking for an AEO engine, this is ours. Mastheads Studio does answer engine optimization for you. We find the questions your buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews, and we shape your pages so those engines can understand them and use them in their answers.
You don't get another dashboard to learn. We agree the scope with you in writing, then we do the work on your site.
Why your buyers meet an answer first now
Your buyers now ask full questions and often get a written answer instead of a list of links. An answer engine builds that answer in roughly four steps:
- The engine breaks the question into smaller questions.
- It searches the web for pages that answer them.
- It reads those pages and pulls out the facts it needs.
- It writes one answer and links some of the pages it used.
How an answer engine turns one question into one answer. Your page has to be one of the ones it reads.
At step three the engine decides whose facts to use. A page that answers plainly, near the top, with facts the engine can check, gives it something to use. A vague page gives it very little, so it reads somebody else's.
While building Mastheads we also measured that an answer engine mostly cites sites it already trusts, and pages about them elsewhere, so what the rest of the web says about you matters as much as your own pages.
What our AEO engine does
When you bring Mastheads Studio in for AEO and GEO, this is the work:
- We research the questions your buyers ask, in the words they use.
- We give your pages an answer-first structure: the plain answer, then the detail.
- We put facts, sources and examples on the page, so an engine has something to check and quote.
- We add structured data where it applies, so machines can read what each page is about.
- We build FAQ and comparison pages where they help a reader, and nowhere else.
Our AI citations work goes beyond your own pages. It audits how your site and your key profiles describe your business. We fix facts that are missing, outdated or conflicting, and we build source pages with clear facts anyone can check. Where it's practical, we run citation checks on questions we agree with you.
An answer engine still has to find and read your page first, so we do the SEO too: we fix whatever stops search engines crawling, reading or trusting your site.
AEO, GEO and SEO, side by side
SEO gets your pages ranked in Google and Bing. AEO makes your page the answer. GEO gets AI-written answers in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews to use your facts.
AEO and GEO are mostly one job seen from two sides, so we sell them as one service, with SEO underneath both.
Why we do it as a service
Some tools track whether AI answers mention your brand. That is useful to know, but the answers only change when your pages change. Somebody has to decide which questions matter to your business, rewrite each answer so it comes first, find a source for each claim, and write the page that should exist and doesn't.
That takes judgement about your business, so our AEO engine is people doing the work, with the scope, timing and price agreed in writing before any work starts.
It is the same idea behind our articles product. Mastheads names who said each fact inside the sentence that carries it and links the source inline, because an article should show its work. More on that on our inline citations page.
What we will not promise
Nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google will name your business. We can't guarantee a mention, a recommendation or a place in any AI answer, and we don't promise rankings.
We can make your pages answer your buyers' questions plainly, with a source for each fact, and make the facts about you consistent everywhere an AI system might look.
Mistakes we look for first
- The answer is buried. If the reply to a page's main question sits in paragraph six, an engine may take it from a page that says it in line one.
- Claims with nothing behind them. "The best service in town" gives an engine nothing to check. A fact with a source does.
- AI search crawlers are blocked. Some sites block them in robots.txt without knowing it, and an answer engine cannot cite a page its crawler may not read.
- Pages written for the machine. Question headings with no real answer under them help nobody, and readers leave.
- The facts about you disagree. An old address on one profile and a different list of services on another, and the answer about you comes out muddled.
How to start
Tell us about your site and what you sell on the Mastheads Studio quote form. Pick the services you need, and a budget range if you have one. We reply within one business day.
Questions people ask about AEO engines
What is an AEO engine?
An AEO engine is whatever does answer engine optimization for a website: the work that shapes its pages so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews can understand and use them. Some people use the phrase for software that tracks AI mentions. The AEO engine at Mastheads Studio is a team that researches your buyers' questions, rebuilds your pages around clear answers, and adds the facts and sources answer engines look for.
What does AEO stand for?
AEO stands for answer engine optimization. It means making a website easy for answer engines, the tools that reply with one written answer instead of a list of links, to read and use. Mastheads Studio does AEO together with GEO, generative engine optimization, as one service.
Is AEO the same as SEO?
No, but AEO depends on SEO. SEO helps your pages rank in search results. AEO shapes them so an answer engine can take a clear answer and the facts behind it. Mastheads Studio does both, because an answer engine still has to find and read a page before it can use it.
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO (answer engine optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) overlap almost completely. AEO is usually said about answers and featured results, GEO about AI-written answers in tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Mastheads Studio treats them as one job and sells them as one service.
Can an AEO service guarantee ChatGPT will mention my business?
No. No AEO service can honestly guarantee a mention, a recommendation or a place in any AI answer, and Mastheads Studio doesn't promise one. Mastheads Studio makes your pages answer your buyers' questions plainly, with a source for each fact, and makes the facts about you consistent wherever AI systems look.
Do I need an AEO tool or an AEO agency?
An AEO tool can show whether AI answers mention you, but it can't rewrite your pages. If you have people to do that work, a tracking tool may be enough. If you don't, Mastheads Studio does the research, the page changes, the structured data and the citation fixes for you.
How much does AEO cost?
Mastheads Studio prices AEO and GEO by quote, because the work depends on your site and what it needs. Tell us about your site on the Mastheads Studio quote form and pick a budget range if you have one. We reply within one business day, and the scope, timing and price are agreed in writing before any work starts.