AEO and GEO explained: getting your Kenyan business into AI answers

More people now ask an AI assistant instead of typing keywords: "Which web designer in Nairobi does M-PESA stores?" or "Best physiotherapist in Kilimani open on Saturday?" Google shows AI Overviews above normal results for many queries, and assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity give one composed answer with a few cited sources. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) are names for the work of being one of those sources.

How AI answers pick sources (in plain terms)

No one outside these companies knows the exact systems, and they change often. But the patterns are clear enough to act on:

• Many assistants search the web in real time and summarise what they find, so normal search visibility still matters.
• They prefer pages that answer the question directly, with specific facts: prices, places, steps, dates.
• They lean on consistent facts across many sources: your website, Google Business Profile, directories, social profiles and mentions in articles.
• Structured data (schema markup) helps machines understand who you are, what you sell and where.

A practical AEO checklist

1. Fix the basics of SEO first. Crawlable pages, fast loading, a sitemap, no blocked resources. See the local SEO checklist.
2. Let AI crawlers in unless you have a reason not to. Check that robots.txt doesn't block crawlers such as GPTBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended if you want to be considered.
3. Make your business facts identical everywhere: name, phone, location, services and prices.
4. Write answer-first pages. Put a one- or two-sentence answer at the top, then the detail. Use the questions customers actually ask as headings.
5. Publish prices and specifics. "From KES 39,000, live in about 14 days" is quotable. "Affordable, fast solutions" is not.
6. Add schema: Organization or LocalBusiness, Service with Offers, FAQPage and Article with a named author.
7. Show who's behind the business. A real author name and an about page help both people and machines trust the content.
8. Earn mentions on reputable Kenyan sites: industry associations, partner pages, local media, directories.
9. Keep content current. Date your articles and update them when prices or rules change.

How to measure it

There is no "Search Console for ChatGPT" yet. A practical method:

• Write down 10–20 questions your customers would ask an assistant.
• Ask them in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google every month, and record whether you are mentioned or linked.
• Watch referral traffic from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and similar domains in your analytics.

What not to do

• Don't stuff pages with keywords or fake FAQs. AI summaries punish vague, repetitive content just as people do.
• Don't publish invented statistics or reviews. Assistants may repeat them, and that can harm your reputation.
• Don't believe anyone who guarantees you'll be "recommended by ChatGPT".

AEO vs GEO vs SEO

They overlap heavily. SEO earns rankings in search results; AEO and GEO focus on being cited inside AI-generated answers. In practice the same groundwork serves all three.

Want an AI visibility check for your business? See AEO and GEO in Kenya, from KES 12,000.