AEO: answer-engine citability
Answer-Engine Optimization (AEO) organizes useful answers for readers and assistants that retrieve them. Publishing machine-readable data does not prove retrieval, citation or verification.
The mechanicslink
- check_circlellms.txt is a guide and llms-full.txt is a generated catalog view, not a promise of complete coverage. The network feed and its variants are separate AI-plan surfaces: eligible published software, AI-tool and service partner listings require Kariant AI or Agentic AI, and the feed honors per-listing opt-outs. Platform-authored content and enabled cross-host families have their own rules.
- check_circleFAQ markup organizes available question-and-answer pairs. It is not proof of citation or independent verification, and does not guarantee a special search-result feature.
- check_circleAnswer-snippet metadata — concise, quotable descriptions designed to survive extraction into an answer.
- check_circlePublic web retrieval follows current access and crawler policies and is distinct from AI-plan catalog eligibility. Assistants must be deliberately connected to use Kariant’s supported tools; there is no automatic enrollment in a universal assistant registry.
Make yourself quotablelink
Write descriptions and FAQs that answer real questions with clear facts, sources and limitations. Use enough detail to be accurate; there is no universal sentence or word count that earns a citation. A source URL supports attribution but does not certify the claim.
AEO vs GEOlink
AEO focuses on clear answers; GEO focuses on useful, attributable evidence for composed answers. Both depend on accessible facts and engine choices. Neither special text files nor feed inclusion guarantees a place in an answer.
Frequently asked questions
Can Kariant guarantee I appear in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers?expand_more
No — third-party engine output cannot be guaranteed by anyone. AEO maximizes your eligibility to be read and cited; the engines decide the rest.
Do I need to host llms.txt on my own site?expand_more
No. It is an optional reader convention, not a requirement for Google Search or a special ranking mechanism. Kariant maintains its supported machine documents; useful public content and evidence remain the foundation.
Which tier includes AEO?expand_more
Basic includes the eligible public listing and search foundation. Kariant’s AI-plan catalog and lookup surfaces begin with AI, subject to publication and distribution rules. Outside assistants may still retrieve a Basic public web page; the plan gate does not control every external engine.