How We Built AEOfix and Achieved
70% AI Visibility in 6 Days

🎯 Executive Summary

In December 2025, we set out to prove a hypothesis: that Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) works faster than traditional SEO for brand recognition. The results exceeded our expectations.

Within 6 days of launch, AEOfix appeared in AI-generated answers 80% of the time when users asked relevant questions. Our technical AEO score reached 88/100, and we established presence across all four major AI platforms.

This isn't a theoretical success story—it's a documented case study with real metrics, actual queries tested, and transparent methodology. Here's how we did it.

🎯 The Challenge: Building in Public

Most SEO case studies conveniently skip the hard parts. We decided to do the opposite: build completely in public, document everything, and share real results—good and bad.

The Constraints

• Zero existing authority: Brand new domain with no backlinks, no history, no trust
• Competitive landscape: Entering a space with established players like Profound, Otterly.ai, and Peec AI
• Fast timeline: Launch in under a week to prove AEO velocity advantage
• Limited resources: Small team, no PR budget, no paid advertising
• Measurable goals: Track visibility across 4 AI engines using real queries

The Hypothesis

We believed that AI search engines would recognize and cite new brands faster than traditional search engines if:

1. Content was properly structured with semantic HTML
2. Comprehensive schema markup was implemented
3. Direct answers to key questions were provided
4. Technical implementation was flawless (fast, accessible, crawlable)
5. E-E-A-T signals were established from day one

Traditional SEO takes 3-6 months to see significant results. We aimed to achieve measurable AI visibility in under one week.

📅 The 6-Day Timeline

⚙️ Technical Implementation

1. Schema Markup Strategy

We implemented 9 distinct schema types to establish comprehensive brand identity for AI engines:

Sample Schema Implementation

2. Content Structure

Every page was optimized for AI parsing with:

• Direct answers first: 40-60 word answers at the top of each page
• Semantic HTML: Proper heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
• Question-based headers: "How does AEO differ from SEO?" instead of "AEO vs SEO"
• Clear definitions: Define acronyms and technical terms immediately
• Structured lists: Use bullet points and numbered lists liberally

3. Technical Performance

📊 The Results: Real Numbers

AI Visibility by Engine (Day 6)

Query Performance Breakdown

We tested 5 critical queries across all 4 engines (20 total tests):

Query 1: "What is AEOfix?"

• Average Score: 82.5/100
• Best Response: Perplexity (90/100) - acknowledged uncertainty but positioned correctly
• Weakest: Claude (70/100) - asked for more context
• Key Finding: All engines mentioned AEOfix, proving brand recognition achieved

Query 2: "Is AEOfix reliable for AI visibility?"

• Average Score: 87.5/100
• Best Response: All engines tied at 90/100
• Key Finding: Engines recognized service category and provided relevant context

Query 3: "Compare AEOfix with Profound and Otterly.ai"

• Average Score: 90/100 (perfect mention rate)
• Key Finding: AEOfix consistently mentioned alongside competitors, establishing market presence

Query 4: "How does AEOfix help with Answer Engine Optimization?"

• Average Score: 90/100
• Best Response: Perplexity with source citations
• Key Finding: Service schema successfully communicated offerings

Query 5: "Who are the leaders in Generative Engine Optimization?"

• Average Score: 0/100 ❌
• Key Finding: Industry-wide queries require additional authority building (expected for brand new site)

Technical Audit Scores

✅ What Worked (And What Didn't)

Top 5 Success Factors

1. Comprehensive Schema Markup (Biggest Impact)

Implementing 9 schema types gave AI engines multiple ways to understand our brand. The FAQPage schema was particularly effective—every engine that cited us referenced FAQ content.

2. FAQ-First Content Strategy

Instead of traditional landing pages, we built every page around answering specific questions. This aligned perfectly with how AI engines retrieve information.

Example: Instead of "Our Services," we created "How Does AEOfix Help with Answer Engine Optimization?"

3. Direct Answers at Top

Every page started with a 40-60 word direct answer. AI engines consistently extracted these as summaries.

4. Fast Edge Deployment

Vercel's global CDN meant sub-second page loads from anywhere. AI crawlers could access content instantly.

5. Semantic HTML Structure

Proper heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3) helped AI engines understand content relationships and extract relevant sections.

What Didn't Work (Yet)

1. Industry Leadership Queries (0/100)

Queries like "Who are the leaders in GEO?" returned competitor names, not AEOfix. This was expected for a 6-day-old brand.

Why: Industry leadership requires authority signals beyond technical optimization—press mentions, citations, established presence.

2. Review/Rating Schema

We initially added review schema but had to remove it because we didn't have real customer reviews yet. Lesson learned: only use schema that reflects reality.

3. Complex Service Explanations

Early versions had verbose service descriptions. AI engines struggled to parse them. We simplified to 1-2 sentence descriptions and saw immediate improvement.

💡 Lessons Learned

1. AI Search Works Faster Than Traditional SEO

It took 6 days to achieve 70% AI visibility. Traditional SEO would take 3-6 months to achieve similar brand recognition. The velocity difference is real and significant.

2. Schema Markup is Non-Negotiable

Sites without comprehensive schema markup struggle to appear in AI answers. We tested this by temporarily removing schema—visibility dropped to 20% within 24 hours.

3. AI Engines Prefer Direct Answers

Long-form content performs worse than concise, direct answers. The "inverted pyramid" journalism style works best for AEO.

4. Technical Performance Matters

AI crawlers appear to favor fast-loading sites. Our Core Web Vitals scores likely contributed to quick indexing.

5. Different Engines Have Different Strengths

• Perplexity: Best at citing sources, showed highest visibility
• Gemini: Fastest to index new content, most accurate descriptions
• ChatGPT: Largest user base but more cautious about new brands
• Claude: Most likely to ask for context, higher quality bar

6. Monitoring is Essential

We built custom brand awareness scanning to track visibility across engines. Without measurement, you can't optimize. Manual testing isn't scalable.

7. Iterate Based on AI Responses

We tested queries daily and refined content based on how AI engines responded. This feedback loop was critical to improving visibility.

📋 Recommendations for Others

If You're Building a New Brand

1. Start with schema first: Don't wait until content is done. Plan schema strategy before writing.
2. Write FAQ-style content: Frame everything as questions and answers.
3. Implement 7+ schema types: Organization, Service, FAQPage, Article, Person minimum.
4. Test queries immediately: Don't wait weeks—test within 48 hours of launch.
5. Monitor all four engines: Each has different behavior and indexing speed.
6. Optimize for speed: Sub-2-second load times should be non-negotiable.
7. Use semantic HTML: Proper heading hierarchy helps AI parsing.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ Adding only Organization schema and stopping
• ❌ Writing traditional marketing copy instead of direct answers
• ❌ Ignoring Core Web Vitals
• ❌ Not testing actual AI responses
• ❌ Using fake reviews or ratings in schema
• ❌ Expecting instant industry leadership (takes time + PR)
• ❌ Focusing on one AI engine only

Recommended Timeline

🚀 What's Next for AEOfix

The 70% visibility in 6 days was just the beginning. Here's our roadmap:

30-Day Goals

• Increase AI visibility to 80/100
• Achieve 30+ score on industry leadership queries
• Launch Source Mapping service (ongoing monitoring)
• Publish 3 detailed AEO case studies
• Collect first 10 real customer reviews

90-Day Goals

• Reach 90/100 overall AI visibility
• Be mentioned in "GEO leaders" queries (60/100 target)
• 10+ customer case studies published
• Third-party review platform integration
• Speaking engagement at industry conference

6-Month Goals

• Industry thought leadership established
• Featured in industry roundups and "top tools" lists
• Published original AEO research/data
• 30+ verified customer reviews
• Competitive with established players in AI visibility

🎓 Key Takeaways

📚 Additional Resources

• What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
• How is AEO Different from SEO?
• How Do AI Engines Choose Content?
• Key Ranking Factors for Answer Engines
• How to Measure AEO Success

💬 Questions or Feedback?

We're sharing this case study openly to help others succeed with AEO. If you have questions about our methodology or want to discuss your own AEO strategy, reach out at contact@aeofix.com