What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

AEO is the practice of optimizing your brand's presence in AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. Unlike traditional SEO which focuses on search engine rankings, AEO focuses on how AI systems talk about, recommend, and represent your brand when users ask questions.

How is AEO different from SEO?

SEO optimizes for search engine rankings and click-through rates. AEO optimizes for AI visibility and sentiment. With AEO, you're not competing for a link on page one—you're competing to be mentioned, recommended, or cited when AI answers a user's question. Both are important, but AEO addresses a new channel that's growing rapidly.

Which AI platforms does AEO Copilot track?

AEO Copilot tracks your brand's visibility across ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. These are the four major AI platforms where users ask questions and expect recommendations.

How often is the data refreshed?

You can refresh data manually at any time with a single click. Automated scheduling is available on paid plans — weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly depending on your plan. Each run re-queries all your prompts across the selected AI platforms and updates your dashboard with fresh results.

Can I track competitors?

Yes. When you set up a brand in AEO Copilot, you can add up to 10 competitors. The platform then tracks how often competitors are mentioned alongside your brand in AI responses — giving you a clear picture of your relative visibility.

Do I need technical skills to use AEO Copilot?

No. AEO Copilot is designed for freelancers and small agencies — not engineers. You enter your brand name, competitors, and topics. The platform handles all API calls, analysis, and reporting. Most users are set up and running their first audit within 10 minutes.

Is there a free plan?

Yes — you can start for free with no credit card required. The free plan includes one brand, ChatGPT tracking, and manual refreshes. Paid plans unlock multi-brand management, all four AI platforms, automated scheduling, team collaboration, and PDF reporting.

Can I invite my team or clients?

Yes. Team collaboration is built into AEO Copilot. You can invite teammates or clients by email and assign roles (owner, editor, viewer). This makes it easy to collaborate on brand strategy, share results, and keep everyone aligned on AI visibility performance.

How to create your brand on AEO Copilot

Name: AEO Copilot
Author: Sofian Bettayeb

2026-02-27 · Sofian Bettayeb

Before you can track how AI mentions a brand, you need to add it. Here's how to create and update your brand in AEO Copilot.

Before you can track how ChatGPT or Perplexity talks about a brand, you need to add it. Two minutes, maybe less.

If you haven't signed up yet, start here — it's free during beta.

Creating your brand

Go to Settings once you're logged in.

!The Settings page showing Brand Management with existing brands and the Add Brand button

Click Add Brand.
Enter the brand name.
Enter the website URL.
Select the industry.
Add competitors. Optional, but worth it if you want to benchmark.
Click Create.

!The Add New Brand form with fields for Brand Name, Website URL, Industry, and Main Competitors

The brand is now in your dashboard. If you're managing multiple clients, create one brand per client — each gets its own audit, topic tracking, and visibility data.

Updating your brand

Brand details change. A rebrand, a new domain, a competitor you want to track. You don't have to start over.

Go to Settings.
Select the brand.
Click the three-dot menu next to the brand name.
Edit the fields — name, URL, industry, or competitors.
Click Save.

What to do next

Once the brand is set up, run the technical audit. It checks whether AI systems can actually read the site. If something's blocking access, the rest of AEO won't give you reliable data to work with.

How to run a technical audit in AEO Copilot covers what each check means and what to fix first.