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What is Answer Engine Optimization vs. Large Language Model Optimization?

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What is Answer Engine Optimization vs. Large Language Model Optimization?

Why “Just Doing SEO” Won’t Make You the Trusted Source for AI Answers

Quick Glossary:

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) helps your content appear in direct answers — think voice search, snippets, and AI-powered search engines like Bing Copilot.

Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO) makes sure your content is trustworthy, quotable, and shows up when people ask ChatGPT or Perplexity for advice.

You don’t pick one or the other — they work together to put your expertise where buyers actually start their search.

If you’ve looked at your GA4 lately, you might have spotted some interesting new visitors:
openai.com — perplexity.ai — copilot.microsoft.com

These aren’t just bots poking around your site. These are the beginnings of AI search engines using your content to answer your buyers’ questions.

Here’s what’s wild:
-Google processes ~8.5 billion searches daily.
-ChatGPT alone now handles ~1 billion queries every day, and that doesn’t count Bing Copilot, Claude, or Perplexity. 

Gartner predicts that, “by 2027, more than 50% of the GenAI models that enterprises use will be specific to either an industry or business function — up from approximately 1% in 2023.”

So if your marketing plan stops at “traditional SEO,” you’re missing where buyers are already finding you — or finding your competitors instead.

Your prospects — especially in B2B — aren’t just Googling. They’re starting their discovery in Answer Engines: ChatGPT. Bing Copilot. Perplexity. Claude.

Tools that don’t send people to a blue link — they summarize the answer for them.

Ad Age’s new AEO vs. SEO flowchart nails it. It’s the clearest depiction yet of how the front door for your brand has changed:

  • SEO still matters — it builds your presence for the fraction of buyers who click through.

  • AEO is the bridge — your content shows up in direct answers, voice search, snippets.

  • But now there’s LLMO — your content trains the models and becomes the answer.

 

Are You Getting AI Citations?

Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT train on open content. When your buyers ask them “What’s the best approach for ABM in manufacturing?” or “Who does buyer behavior consulting?” — the model pulls from what it trusts.

But:

  • Did you structure your content so it’s clear enough to be quoted?

  • Are you showing up as a cited source in Perplexity or Bing Copilot?

  • Or did your ideas get trained into the model, but without your name attached?

 

So what does this mean for real marketing?

We think about it like this:

  1. You don’t just rank — you teach the model what you know.
  2. You don’t just stuff keywords — you structure pages so AI can read, interpret, and trust you.
  3. You don’t just publish fluff — you give your POV away for free because when an LLM looks for a source, they choose the one that’s clear, quotable, and credible.

 

At FitzMartin, we’ve made LLMO and AEO part of our baseline for every client.
 

Here’s exactly how:

  1. We audit your site for LLM readiness — robots.txt access, crawlability for GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot.
  2. We restructure core pages with schema, proper hierarchy, and glossary-level clarity.
  3. We write for humans and models — short sentences, bullet lists, modular sections, clear definitions.
  4. We design pull quotes and Q&A sections because these get cited more often in AI responses.
  5. We monitor your AI referrals in GA4 — so you know who’s finding you through AI before they ever hit your website.
  6. We’re expanding our persona messaging maps to include layered Q&A and thought leadership content, so every stage of the journey is covered. 

We’re not just doing this for ourselves — it’s a default layer for every growth strategy we deploy for B2B clients.

 

What does that do for our clients?

For B2B brands in industrial, manufacturing, SaaS, pharmaceutical and professional services, the stakes are even higher — your buyers want proof and clarity. We make sure your expertise is what AI trusts and repeats.

It means when a buyer uses ChatGPT to research their next $450k deal, your company name is what they see — because the AI found your answer more trustworthy than the noise.

It means you’re part of the new decision journey that’s happening before you see a click, a pixel fire, or an inbound form fill.

It means you’re not invisible when the buying conversation shifts to an AI that remembers the best source.

 

SEO. AEO. LLMO.

Don’t pick one. Build for all three.


And if you don’t know where to start, start here: Pull up ChatGPT. Ask what your company does best. Then ask Perplexity who your competitors are.

If you don’t like the answer — or there isn’t one — let’s fix that.

Wondering where to see this data in GA4? Below is a checklist we’ve built to show you exactly where to find this data in this new AI-first search world.

Free GA4 Checklist to Send to Your Marketing Team

  1. Look for AI Referrals
  • Go to Reports → Traffic acquisition

  • Filter by Source/Medium

  • Watch for:

    • openai.com / referral

    • perplexity.ai / referral

    • copilot.microsoft.com / referral

    • bing.com with unusual patterns

  1. Add AI as a Segment
  • Create a custom segment: Source contains 'ai' OR 'copilot' OR 'perplexity'

  1. Check Top Pages for AI Visits
  • See which pages are being crawled or served up in AI answers.

  1. Watch Engagement
  • Are AI-driven visitors bouncing?

  • Are they converting?

  • What are they reading?

  1. Set a Monthly Reminder
  • These trends shift fast — check at least once a month.

Share This With Your Marketing Team

This checklist isn’t just a good read — it’s a quick win. Forward this post to your marketing lead or RevOps team. It might be the fastest way to see if your brand is already fueling AI engines — and getting credit for it.

 

 

 
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