The 2026 AEO Checklist: Steps to Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini

If you've ever searched your own product and seen a competitor recommended by an AI assistant instead, you already understand why AEO matters. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of making your site legible, trustworthy, and citable to AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Deepseek. It's not magic. It's mostly technical and structural decisions you can either get right or leave broken. The frustrating part? A lot of what blocks AI citations is stuff you'd fix anyw