If your brand isn’t showing up when customers ask ChatGPT which product, supplier, or software to choose, you’re already behind.

AI search is changing how buyers across every sector find information and make decisions. A growing share of Google searches now trigger AI overviews that answer questions instantly, often without a click.

At the same time, more engineers, procurement teams, and business leaders are turning to AI platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity to compare vendors, assess features, and identify trusted solutions.

If you want to send more qualified leads to your sales team and win new work, your brand needs to be present in the places where potential customers are searching. That’s where answer engine optimization (AEO) comes in. It can help you:

• Dominate vendor and technical queries in both AI and traditional search
• Position your company as a trusted leader in your segment
• Turn your digital footprint into a driver of qualified leads and sales

Most competitors are either moving too slowly or underestimating the shift toward AI search. We’ll help you adapt for the AI era so you can appear in AI results, and turn that visibility into commercial growth.

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“Answer Engine Optimization?” Let’s Break it Down.

Answer engine optimization (AEO) helps your website content get discovered, understood, and referenced by AI tools.

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT learn from massive online datasets—industry sites, case studies, specifications, and reviews—to generate human-like answers. AEO ensures your content is structured and credible enough for those tools to include in their responses

While SEO (search engine optimization) earns clicks to your website through search engines like Google, AEO earns recognition in AI responses to real buyer questions like:

• “What’s the best frac plug for horizontal wells?”
• “Which industrial pump manufacturer is most reliable?”
• “What’s the best HIPAA-compliant software for my clinic?”

Optimizing for both helps you appear in traditional results and AI overviews so your brand stays visible across every stage of search.

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From Visibility to Conversion: How SEO + AEO Work Together

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SEO and AEO work together to boost your visibility across search and AI, turning your technical expertise and industry credibility into qualified leads, project wins, and long-term growth.

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5 Smart Ways to Prepare Your Brand for AI

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1. Build Authority Like a Pro

AI models favor clarity and expertise. Publish content that answers real customer questions and connects directly to your product or service offering, and link related content so AI and readers can follow the thread across your site.

Examples:

• Energy: Create guides on field reliability, downhole performance, or flow assurance challenges.
• Industrial: Build troubleshooting FAQs, product selection tools, and thought leadership on efficiency or safety.
• Technology: Write explainers on integrations, compliance, and ROI, along with head-to-head product comparisons.

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2. Structure Your Content for AI

AI engines can’t parse long PDFs or unlabeled visuals. Structured content helps them find your information and quote your expertise accurately.

Examples:

• Add schema markup (e.g., Product, Service, FAQ, HowTo).
• Turn PDFs into web pages with clear headings and tables.
• Label technical data (e.g., “Pressure Rating,” “Uptime,” “Operating Range”).
• Include glossaries for industry terms and acronyms.

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3. Use Trust Signals That Help You Rank

AI models and humans both trust transparent, verifiable content. The more credible your content, the more likely AI tools are to include it in their generated responses.

Examples:‍

• Publish under real names, like your engineers, managers, or specialists.
• Cite relevant standards like API, ASME, ISO, SOC 2, or HIPAA.
• Add case studies with metrics showing performance, reliability, or cost savings.
• Highlight awards, certifications, and third-party reviews.

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4. Add Visuals That AI Understands

Visuals engage people, but AI needs text to understand them. Whether it’s a frac plug cross-section, a pump schematic, or a software dashboard, context can bring your visuals into an AI response in a way that makes sense to your customers.

Examples:

• Add alt text and captions to all diagrams and photos.
• Pair visuals with short explanations or spec tables.
• Repeat image callouts in text so AI can read them.

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5. Boost Your AEO Cred With Backlinks

High-quality backlinks strengthen both SEO and AEO by signaling that your brand is trusted by industry authorities.

Examples:‍

• Publish guest articles in trade journals, tech blogs, or engineering magazines.
• Share news on partnerships, certifications, and product launches with trusted industry publications.
• Join respected directories that are relevant to your industry and provide links back to your website.
• Check which sources AI tools are already citing and aim to appear there.

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AI-Driven Growth in Action

Active SEO + AEO programs are essential for B2B customers to remain at the forefront of their customer's search queries in an ever-changing digital landscape. Take a look at how three of our clients are staying ahead.
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Energy Example: Downhole Tool Manufacturer

We actively optimize this Texas-based manufacturer's website for both SEO and AEO, with current results being:

• 16% share of voice in its category, which is comparable to its much larger competitors.
• 79% favorable sentiment in AI-generated mentions.
• Identified initiatives to grow AI referral traffic from ChatGPT and Copilot searches.

Industrial Example: Component Manufacturer

We have just started an SEO + AEO program for this Texas-based industrial equipment producer, whose competitors aren’t doing the same. We’re starting this program by integrating structured data and case studies into the website. Below are the baseline results we have measured and will be building upon:

• Tracked share of voice and sentiment across current AI mentions.
• Built early historical data to benchmark visibility as AEO evolves.

Technology Example: Healthcare Technology Company

Our Virginia-based healthcare tech client’s website is on an active SEO + AEO program, and we have introduced elements like structured data, expert-led content, and proof-based case studies. Their results are steadily growing:

• 1% share of voice in its category, which is highly saturated by bigger providers.
• 96% favorable sentiment in AI-generated mentions, which position the company as a trusted leader improving patient care through transparency.
• Achieved steady AI visibility and referral traffic (LLMs now the brand’s second-largest referral source).

Across all three, the lesson is the same: active SEO + AEO programs are essential for B2B customers to remain at the forefront of their customer's search queries in an ever-changing digital landscape.

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Ready to Be Found by AI? Kickstart Your Search Strategy Today.

AI search is rewriting how customers discover, compare, and choose. SEO still matters, but AEO is the next advantage for brands that want to lead their categories. Companies that act now can dominate AI-generated answers and turn credibility into conversion.

At Studio Forum, we help energy, technology, and industrial brands build AI-ready strategies that turn expertise into growth. Curious how to make your brand perform in AI search?

Email our content director at grace@studioforum.ca to ask any questions or request a free AEO whitepaper tailored to industrial, energy, or technology brands.