# AEO optimizer Human Guide ## What This Is For AEO — Answer Engine Optimization — is the discipline of structuring content so that AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) can extract clean, quotable answers and confidently. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for AEO optimizer: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return. Use this as a human-readable version of the AEO optimizer agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions. ## When To Use This - Use this when you need a repeatable process for AEO optimizer. - Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt. - Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact. ## When Not To Use This - Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer. - Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant. - Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review. ## What You Need Before Starting - The goal or business outcome you want. - The audience, customer segment, or market context. - Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance. - Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements. - A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like. ## Step-By-Step Workflow 1. State the job clearly: "Use the AEO optimizer guide to help me with..." 2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints. 3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output. 4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below. 5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed. ## Skill-Specific Guidance - All H2s rewritten as direct questions - 50-80 word answer capsule inserted directly beneath each H2 - Paragraphs trimmed to ≤3 sentences where they exceeded that - Trust signals preserved and lightly emphasized - No links inside any answer capsule - Original voice and structure maintained — this is an optimization, not a rewrite - [Any remaining gaps — e.g. "Section 4 capsule is 88 words — trim by 10"] - [Structural suggestions — e.g. "Add a FAQ section at the end for high-volume PAA questions"] - [Missing trust signals — e.g. "Add a publication date and last-updated date for freshness signals"] - [Schema markup suggestion if applicable — FAQ schema, HowTo schema, etc.] - **Pasted text:** Treat as-is. Do not attempt to fetch a URL if text is pasted. - **URL:** Fetch the page. Extract the main article body — ignore nav, sidebars, footers, and ad blocks. If the page is JavaScript-rendered and fetch returns only a shell, ask the user to paste the text instead. ## Decision Points And Nuance The original skill emphasizes: The AEO Problem, Required Inputs, Output Structure, Deliverable 1 — AEO-Ready Article, [H2 rewritten as a direct question?], [Next H2 as a direct question?], Deliverable 2 — AEO Audit Report, AEO Audit Report, Heading Rewrites, Answer Capsule Placements. Use these questions to steer the work: - What is the intended audience or buyer? - What source material must be preserved? - What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion? - What examples represent the desired quality bar? - What should the assistant avoid? ## Common Mistakes - | Input | Required | Notes | - **Pasted text:** Treat as-is. Do not attempt to fetch a URL if text is pasted. - Record the before scores. Do not round up — be honest. - Do not rewrite H3s unless the user requests it. H3s can stay as labels — AI engines primarily anchor on H2s. - Do not change the H1. The H1 is the article title and SEO title — it follows different rules. - Must be self-contained — someone reading only the heading + capsule should have a complete, useful answer - Use the same voice and terminology as the article — do not change the author's perspective - Do not summarise or remove content — just add a paragraph break ## Copy-And-Paste Prompt ```text Use the AEO optimizer human guide. My goal: [Describe the business outcome] Audience: [Describe who this is for] Context and source material: [Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy] Constraints: [Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items] Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result. ``` ## Final Checklist - [ ] The output matches the original goal. - [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer. - [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved. - [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit. - [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person. ## Source This guide was generated from the mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills skill entry for `aeo-optimizer`. ## Source Skill Notes These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic. # AEO Optimizer Skill AEO — Answer Engine Optimization — is the discipline of structuring content so that AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) can extract clean, quotable answers and confidently cite your content as a source. Most articles are written for humans who scroll, skim, and click. AI engines don't scroll — they scan for extractable answer units. They look for short, self-contained answer blocks sitting directly beneath a clear question heading. If they can't find those, they either skip the content or paraphrase it poorly. This skill fixes that. --- ## The AEO Problem Here is what AI engines are scanning for, and what most articles fail to provide: | What AI engines want | What most articles deliver | |---|---| | H2 = a direct question ("What is X?") | H2 = a vague topic label ("About X" or "Understanding X") | | 50-80 word answer capsule immediately under the heading | Long intro paragraphs before the actual answer | | No links inside the answer block | Inline links that break extractability | | ≤3 sentences per paragraph | Dense 6-8 sentence paragraphs | | Named frameworks, original data, first-person experience | Generic statements with no attribution or specificity | | Consistent question-answer-expand structure throughout | Inconsistent structure that varies section by section | When an AI engine cannot cleanly extract a 50-80 word answer, it either skips the article or provides a vague paraphrase without a citation link. AEO optimization removes those barriers. --- ## Required Inputs Claude will ask for these if not provided: | Input | Required | Notes | |---|---|---| | Article content | Yes | Paste the full draft text, or provide a URL Claude can fetch | | Target audience | No | Helps calibrate question phrasing — e.g. "beginner founders" vs "senior engineers" | | Primary keyword or topic | No | If provided, Claude ensures H2 questions cover it directly | | Existing URL (if published) | No | Used in the audit report to note the live page | | Preserve exact section order | No | Defaults to yes — Claude rewrites in place, doesn't restructure | If providing a URL instead of pasted text, Claude will fetch the page content. Note: paywalled or JavaScript-rendered articles may require manual paste. --- ## Output Structure Claude produces two deliverables in sequence: ### Deliverable 1 — AEO-Ready Article The full rewritten article with: - All H2s rewritten as direct questions - 50-80 word answer capsule inserted directly beneath each H2 - Paragraphs trimmed to ≤3 sentences where they exceeded that - Trust signals preserved and lightly emphasized - No links inside any answer capsule - Original voice and structure maintained — this is an optimization, not a rewrite **Format:** ```markdown # [Original H1 title — unchanged unless it needs question format] [Introduction — keep as-is or trim to ≤3 sentences. Add a "What this covers:" summary if intro is >150 words.] ## [H2 rewritten as a direct question?] [Answer capsule — 50-80 words, no links, self-contained, answers the question completely on its own.] [Rest of the section body — expanded explanation, examples, data, links allowed here] ## [Next H2 as a direct question?] [Answer capsule — 50-80 words, no links] [Section body] ``` --- ### Deliverable 2 — AEO Audit Report Structured report showing all changes made and signals identified.