How to Find and Fix Your AEO Keywords Gap
Optimize your content to secure citations in AI-driven search engine results.
1Defining the AEO Gap
An AEO keywords gap represents the discrepancy between questions surfaced by AI answer engines and the clarity of a brand's existing content. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on link rankings, AEO targets the specific prompts where a brand fails to provide a direct, citable answer for AI models like Gemini or Perplexity.
2The Shift in Search
AI search is fundamentally changing how buyers evaluate solutions. Research shows 42% of CRM software decision-makers now utilize AI search during their evaluation process. Because AI tools often provide a concise shortlist rather than a list of links, brands missing from these AI-generated responses risk being excluded from consideration before reaching a website.
3SEO vs. AEO Dynamics
Traditional SEO and AEO gaps are distinct metrics that require different strategies. Data indicates that approximately 83% of sources cited in AI Overviews do not rank in the organic top ten of traditional search results. Consequently, high organic rankings do not guarantee visibility or citation within AI-generated responses for the same topics.
4Auditing Search Console Data
Begin your audit by analyzing Google Search Console data to identify existing query patterns. Focus on long-tail, conversational, and question-style queries that already drive impressions. These queries indicate existing brand authority, which can be leveraged to improve the likelihood of being cited by AI models when users ask similar, intent-driven questions.
5Leveraging First-Party Insights
Customer-facing data from sales calls, support tickets, and community forums provides the most accurate phrasing for how users solve problems. By mapping these recurring questions against current website content, marketers can identify specific gaps where the brand fails to provide direct, answer-ready information that AI engines can easily extract and cite.
6Analyzing Competitor Citations
Competitors in AI search often differ from those in traditional SERPs. Run category-level prompts through ChatGPT and Perplexity to observe which domains are consistently cited. Note the specific formats favored by these engines, such as comparison tables or listicles, to understand the structural requirements needed to compete for visibility in AI responses.
7Reviewing Content Clarity
Conduct a thorough inventory of existing pages to determine if they provide direct answers or merely talk around a topic. A page may cover a subject comprehensively but still fail to be cited if it lacks a concise, plain-language answer near a relevant heading that an AI engine can lift.
8Prioritizing Strategic Gaps
Not every identified gap warrants immediate action. Prioritize gaps based on business relevance, alignment with your ideal customer profile, and funnel stage. Focus on questions that map directly to core offerings and buying decisions, as these provide the highest potential for revenue impact rather than simply increasing generic, low-value search traffic.
9Benchmarking with AI Tools
Utilize tools like HubSpot’s AI Search Grader to establish a baseline for how your brand is characterized across sentiment, presence quality, and share of voice. This benchmarking helps quantify how AI represents your brand compared to competitors, providing a clear starting point for measuring the effectiveness of your future optimization efforts.
10Formatting for AI Extraction
Structure content to be answer-ready by choosing formats that match the user's intent. Use comparison tables for 'versus' queries and step-by-step guides for 'how-to' questions. Ensure the direct answer is placed in the first sentence following a heading, allowing AI models to easily extract the information as a standalone, authoritative citation.
11Building Answer Clusters
After providing a direct answer to a core question, expand the content by addressing related follow-up questions. Assign each supporting question its own heading and direct answer. This strategy creates a cluster of citable content, increasing the likelihood that your brand will be surfaced for a broader range of related search prompts.
12Measuring Long-term Success
Closing the AEO keywords gap is an iterative process requiring continuous monitoring of referral traffic and citation frequency. By consistently auditing, optimizing, and tracking performance against AI-driven search results, brands can secure a competitive advantage, ensuring they remain visible as AI search becomes the primary interface for modern product and solution evaluations.
Original article: HubSpot Blog — How to Find and Fix Your AEO Keywords Gap