More and more buyers no longer type a query into Google: they ask ChatGPT "what's the best electric bike for the city?" or read Google's AI overview (SGE). If your store isn't cited in those answers, you're invisible to a growing share of demand. That's what AEO is about.
AEO definition: what is Answer Engine Optimization?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), sometimes called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), is optimizing a site to be understood, extracted and cited by AI-based answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google SGE, Gemini). Where SEO targets a position in a list of links, AEO targets becoming the source of the generated answer.
SEO vs AEO: the key difference
| Classic SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in 10 blue links | Be cited in the AI answer |
| Target | Google/Bing | ChatGPT, Perplexity, SGE, Gemini |
| Winning format | Keyword-optimized page | Clear answers + structured data |
| Metric | Position, clicks | Citations, brand mentions |
AEO doesn't replace SEO: it builds on it and extends it.
The 6 AEO levers for a PrestaShop store
1. Allow AI crawlers
No access, no citation. Make sure your robots.txt allows GPTBot, Google-Extended, PerplexityBot and ClaudeBot on your public pages.
2. Structure as questions/answers
AI engines extract direct answers better. Add FAQs to your product and category pages, and phrase paragraphs that answer a specific question.
3. Structured data
Product, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList markup (JSON-LD) gives machines an unambiguous understanding of your content. It's a major AEO signal.
4. Factual, definitive content
Models favor clear, assertive sentences. An "AEO definition" at the start of a section (like in this guide) is exactly the format they cite.
5. Consistency of information
Your name, offer and key facts must be identical everywhere (site, third-party profiles). Contradictions reduce model trust.
6. An llms.txt file
A /llms.txt file gives AIs a clean, factual summary of your site — a machine-readable identity card. Fexa generates it from your catalogue and serves it automatically: see the dedicated llms.txt file guide.
How Fexa AI serves AEO
Fexa AI automatically injects Product and FAQPage markup into your pages' <head>, generates usable FAQs, and produces structured, factual content — without touching your theme. It's AEO applied at catalog scale. For the broader SEO context, see the complete guide.
In summary
AEO decides whether your store exists in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google SGE. The levers: allow AI crawlers, structure as Q&A, add structured data, write factually, stay consistent and publish an llms.txt. It's the natural extension of SEO — and a decisive advantage for stores that start early. Discover the module.