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name: aeo-optimizer description: "Optimize an article for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) so AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude can extract, quote, and cite it. Use when asked to AEO-optimize, make content AI-readable, improve AI citation chances, or adapt an article for answer engines. Produces an AEO-optimised rewrite with question headings, 50–80 word answer capsules, a paragraph-length audit, and flagged trust signals."

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.

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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.

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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.

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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]

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Deliverable 2 — AEO Audit Report

Structured report showing all changes made and signals identified.

Format:

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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]

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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 |

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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 |

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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]

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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]

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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] |

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Recommended Next Steps

1. [Any remaining gaps — e.g. "Section 4 capsule is 88 words — trim by 10"]
2. [Structural suggestions — e.g. "Add a FAQ section at the end for high-volume PAA questions"]
3. [Missing trust signals — e.g. "Add a publication date and last-updated date for freshness signals"]
4. [Schema markup suggestion if applicable — FAQ schema, HowTo schema, etc.]

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End of AEO Audit Report

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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 specific enough that the answer could stand alone as a snippet
• Use "What", "How", "Why", "When", "Which", or "Who" — not vague gerunds ("Understanding", "Exploring", "Unpacking")
• Match the search intent of the original section, not just rephrase it generically
• Be 8 words or fewer when possible (longer questions are harder for AI engines to match)

Examples of heading transformations:

| Before | After | |---|---| | Introduction to Agile | What is Agile methodology? | | Why We Built This | Why did [Company] build [product]? | | The Case for Async Work | Why do distributed teams choose async work? | | Benefits | What are the main benefits of X? | | Tools and Resources | Which tools do [audience] use for X? | | Getting Started | How do you get started with X? | | Common Mistakes | What mistakes do beginners make with X? | | Our Approach | How does [Company/author] approach X? |

Do not rewrite H3s unless the user requests it. H3s can stay as labels — AI engines primarily anchor on H2s.

Do not change the H1. The H1 is the article title and SEO title — it follows different rules.

Step 4 — Write answer capsules

For each H2, write a 50-80 word answer capsule to be inserted immediately after the heading and before any existing body text.

Capsule rules:

• Must be self-contained — someone reading only the heading + capsule should have a complete, useful answer
• No links of any kind inside the capsule (links break AI extractability)
• No hedging phrases ("It depends", "There are many factors") — commit to the answer
• Use the same voice and terminology as the article — do not change the author's perspective
• If the section has an existing strong first paragraph that is already 50-80 words and self-contained, use it as the capsule with minimal edits rather than writing a new one
• Count words precisely — under 50 is too thin, over 80 and AI engines may not extract it cleanly

Capsule structure options:

Option A — Definition then application:

[Concise definition of the concept in 1-2 sentences.] [How it applies in practice, with one specific example or number.] [Why it matters for the reader's situation.]

Option B — Direct answer then context:

[Direct answer to the heading question in 1 sentence.] [2-3 sentences of supporting context, specifics, or mechanism.] [Optional: one concrete example or stat.]

Option C — How-to opener:

[State the outcome in 1 sentence.] [Steps 1, 2, 3 in compressed form.] [Note on when this applies or what to watch for.]

Mark each capsule clearly with an HTML comment so the author knows it was added:

<!-- AEO Answer Capsule — 64 words -->
[capsule text]
<!-- End AEO Capsule -->

Step 5 — Audit and trim paragraph length

Scan every paragraph in the body sections (not the capsules). If a paragraph exceeds 3 sentences:

• Split it into two paragraphs at the most natural break
• Do not summarise or remove content — just add a paragraph break
• If a paragraph is a list in disguise (long run-on sentence with "and", "then", "also"), convert it to a bullet list instead

Note every change in the audit report's paragraph length table.

Step 6 — Identify and flag trust signals

Scan the full article for trust signals. Do not add trust signals — only identify what exists and flag gaps. Trust signals are:

| Signal type | What to look for | |---|---| | Original data | "Our data shows", "We analysed X", "In our survey of N..." | | Named frameworks | Any named methodology, model, or system (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)