Notes on Answer Engine Optimization.
Essays, research, and working notes. Publishing irregularly. The best pieces will probably be the ones the answer engines end up citing themselves.
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What is llms.txt, and should my business have one?
A definitional explainer on /llms.txt — what it is, what it isn't, which crawlers actually use it, and when it's worth shipping.
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How long until AI search recommends my business?
A realistic timeline for when ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview start citing a local business after AEO work begins. Phased by signal type.
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Is AEO different from SEO, or just a rebrand?
An honest answer to the most common skeptical question about Answer Engine Optimization. The overlap, the genuine differences, and why the difference matters for the work.
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How AI chatbots decide which local business to recommend
ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini don't pick local businesses at random. A walk through the retrieval signals that actually drive who gets named.
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How to check if ChatGPT recommends your business
A practical, repeatable method for testing whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview cite your business — and what to do with the answer.
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What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
A concise, definitional introduction to Answer Engine Optimization — what it is, how it differs from SEO, and why it matters now.
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