AEO Optimizer Skill
AEO — Answer Engine Optimization — is the discipline of structuring content so that AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) can extract clean, quotable answers and confidently cite your content as a source.
Most articles are written for humans who scroll, skim, and click. AI engines don't scroll — they scan for extractable answer units. They look for short, self-contained answer blocks sitting directly beneath a clear question heading. If they can't find those, they either skip the content or paraphrase it poorly. This skill fixes that.
The AEO Problem
Here is what AI engines are scanning for, and what most articles fail to provide:
| What AI engines want | What most articles deliver |
|---|---|
| H2 = a direct question ("What is X?") | H2 = a vague topic label ("About X" or "Understanding X") |
| 50-80 word answer capsule immediately under the heading | Long intro paragraphs before the actual answer |
| No links inside the answer block | Inline links that break extractability |
| ≤3 sentences per paragraph | Dense 6-8 sentence paragraphs |
| Named frameworks, original data, first-person experience | Generic statements with no attribution or specificity |
| Consistent question-answer-expand structure throughout | Inconsistent structure that varies section by section |
When an AI engine cannot cleanly extract a 50-80 word answer, it either skips the article or provides a vague paraphrase without a citation link. AEO optimization removes those barriers.
Required Inputs
Claude will ask for these if not provided:
| Input | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Article content | Yes | Paste the full draft text, or provide a URL Claude can fetch |
| Target audience | No | Helps calibrate question phrasing — e.g. "beginner founders" vs "senior engineers" |
| Primary keyword or topic | No | If provided, Claude ensures H2 questions cover it directly |
| Existing URL (if published) | No | Used in the audit report to note the live page |
| Preserve exact section order | No | Defaults to yes — Claude rewrites in place, doesn't restructure |
If providing a URL instead of pasted text, Claude will fetch the page content. Note: paywalled or JavaScript-rendered articles may require manual paste.
Output Structure
Claude produces two deliverables in sequence:
Deliverable 1 — AEO-Ready Article
The full rewritten article with:
- All H2s rewritten as direct questions
- 50-80 word answer capsule inserted directly beneath each H2
- Paragraphs trimmed to ≤3 sentences where they exceeded that
- Trust signals preserved and lightly emphasized
- No links inside any answer capsule
- Original voice and structure maintained — this is an optimization, not a rewrite
Format:
# [Original H1 title — unchanged unless it needs question format]
[Introduction — keep as-is or trim to ≤3 sentences. Add a "What this covers:" summary if intro is >150 words.]
## [H2 rewritten as a direct question?]
[Answer capsule — 50-80 words, no links, self-contained, answers the question completely on its own.]
[Rest of the section body — expanded explanation, examples, data, links allowed here]
## [Next H2 as a direct question?]
[Answer capsule — 50-80 words, no links]
[Section body]
Deliverable 2 — AEO Audit Report
Structured report showing all changes made and signals identified.
Format:
AEO Audit Report
Article: [Title] URL: [If provided] Audit date: [Today's date] AEO readiness score (before): [X/10] AEO readiness score (after): [X/10]
Heading Rewrites
| Original H2 | Rewritten H2 | Change type |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding Content Strategy | What is content strategy and why does it matter? | Topic label → direct question |
| The Benefits of X | What are the main benefits of X? | Vague noun phrase → question |
| How We Do It at [Company] | How does [Company] approach X? | First-person → question format |
Answer Capsule Placements
For each section, confirm capsule word count is within 50-80 words:
| Section | Capsule word count | Links removed from capsule | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is content strategy...? | 64 words | 2 links removed | OK |
| How do you build a content calendar? | 71 words | 0 links (none were present) | OK |
| What tools do content teams use? | 58 words | 1 link removed | OK |
Paragraph Length Audit
| Section | Original max paragraph (sentences) | Action taken |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 6 sentences | Split into 2 paragraphs |
| Section 2 body | 4 sentences | Trimmed to 3 |
| Section 4 body | 2 sentences | No change needed |
Paragraphs flagged as too long (before optimization): [N] Paragraphs within ≤3 sentences (after optimization): [all]
Trust Signal Inventory
Trust signals are the elements AI engines treat as credibility markers — original data, named frameworks, first-person experience, and specific attributions. These make AI engines more likely to cite rather than paraphrase.
| Signal type | Found in article | Example | AEO value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original data / research | Yes | "Our analysis of 400 posts showed..." | High — cite-worthy claim |
| Named framework | Yes | "The RICE scoring model" | High — search anchor |
| First-person experience | Yes | "After running 3 content audits..." | Medium — authority signal |
| Named expert / quote | No | — | Recommend adding |
| Specific numbers / stats | Yes | "34% increase in organic traffic" | High — extractable fact |
| Date-stamped content | No | — | Recommend adding publication date |
| Case study reference | Yes | "At Acme Corp, we ran..." | High — concrete example |
Trust signals present: [N] Recommended additions: [list any gaps]
AEO Scoring Rubric
| Criterion | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| H2s as direct questions (% of total) | [X%] | [X%] |
| Answer capsule present under each H2 | No | Yes |
| Capsules within 50-80 words | N/A | [X/N sections] |
| No links inside capsules | N/A | Yes |
| Paragraphs ≤3 sentences | [X%] | [X%] |
| Trust signals present | [N] | [N] |
| Total score | [X/10] | [X/10] |
Recommended Next Steps
- [Any remaining gaps — e.g. "Section 4 capsule is 88 words — trim by 10"]
- [Structural suggestions — e.g. "Add a FAQ section at the end for high-volume PAA questions"]
- [Missing trust signals — e.g. "Add a publication date and last-updated date for freshness signals"]
- [Schema markup suggestion if applicable — FAQ schema, HowTo schema, etc.]
End of AEO Audit Report
How Claude Should Execute This Skill
Step 1 — Ingest the article
Accept the content as either:
- Pasted text: Treat as-is. Do not attempt to fetch a URL if text is pasted.
- URL: Fetch the page. Extract the main article body — ignore nav, sidebars, footers, and ad blocks. If the page is JavaScript-rendered and fetch returns only a shell, ask the user to paste the text instead.
Count the headings. Note the number of H2s, H3s, and H1s. This sets expectations for how many capsules will be written.
Step 2 — Assess AEO readiness before touching anything
Before rewriting, score the article on the AEO rubric (see Deliverable 2 scoring table). This gives the user a before/after comparison and helps Claude identify where to focus effort.
Run through each criterion and note the count:
- How many H2s are already in question format? (count ones that end with "?")
- Does any section already have a 50-80 word self-contained answer block?
- What is the average and maximum paragraph length in sentences?
- How many trust signals are present? (scan for numbers, named frameworks, first-person phrases, quotes)
Record the before scores. Do not round up — be honest.
Step 3 — Rewrite H2 headings as questions
For each H2 in the article, rewrite it as a direct question that a real person would ask an AI engine. Guidelines:
The question must:
- Be speci