An AEO strategy gives you a structured approach to making your content eligible for AI-generated answers. Rather than making random improvements, a framework helps you prioritise effort across six areas: intent research, entity building, content architecture, passage optimisation, E-E-A-T signals, and measurement. Start with What is AEO? if you are new to the concept.
The 6 Pillars of AEO Strategy
Each pillar is a distinct workstream requiring different skills, tools, and cadences. The pillars are interdependent: weak entity signals undermine passage optimisation, and poor content architecture limits what E-E-A-T signals can achieve.
AEO Strategy Framework: 6 Pillars
Click any pillar or hit Play to explore each component of the strategy framework.
Intent Research
Map all priority queries by intent type. Separate informational, how-to, definition, and transactional. Each requires different AEO tactics.
AEO Maturity Model
Where an organisation sits in the maturity model determines which strategy actions are appropriate. Skipping stages is inefficient. Organisations at Stage 0 who attempt Stage 3 optimisation without the foundational audit and measurement infrastructure typically see minimal return.
AEO Maturity Model
Stage 0: Unaware
No AEO-specific optimisation. Content is written for human readers only. Schema is absent or minimal. No measurement of featured snippets or AI citations.
Next actions:
- +Conduct introductory AEO awareness training for the content team.
- +Install Google Search Console and verify property.
- +Run a baseline featured snippet audit for top 50 queries.
12-Month Strategy Timeline
Months 1-2: Foundation
- +Conduct AEO content audit across top 100 pages
- +Implement FAQ and HowTo schema on all eligible pages
- +Rewrite opening paragraphs of top 20 informational pages
Months 3-4: Architecture
- +Map and fill topic cluster gaps for primary subjects
- +Build or strengthen pillar pages with comprehensive coverage
- +Implement Organisation and Person schema across the site
Months 5-8: Authority
- +Launch original research or data study for at least two priority topics
- +Build named author profiles with credentials on all priority pages
- +Develop cross-cluster internal link architecture
Months 9-12: Optimisation
- +Analyse AI citation share across all priority topics
- +Expand into Bing and Perplexity optimisation
- +Run second full audit and adjust for gaps identified in measurement data