About Canonry frequently asked questions

Question 1

What is Answer Engine Optimization?

Accepted Answer

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring a website so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity can understand, verify, and cite the business when buyers ask for recommendations. It builds on traditional SEO foundations but adds structured data, AI-readable content systems, and entity authority signals that AI models specifically look for when deciding which businesses to surface in conversational answers.

Question 2

How is AEO different from traditional SEO?

Accepted Answer

SEO optimizes for ranked search results on Google. AEO optimizes for getting cited by name in conversational AI answers. The underlying fundamentals overlap (quality content, clear structure, real authority), but AEO adds a technical layer of JSON-LD schema, llms.txt files, and entity consistency, and a measurement layer traditional SEO does not need: classifying AI crawler and referral traffic and monitoring citations across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Because LLM responses are non-deterministic, that monitoring tracks trends over time rather than capturing one exact answer.

Question 3

What is prompt research in AEO?

Accepted Answer

Prompt research is a methodology where a single buyer intent is expanded into hundreds of related prompt variations to map how AI models actually respond across the full landscape. Instead of optimizing for one keyword, Canonry tests the realistic prompt space buyers use, then tracks which signals on the site move citations across that variation.

Question 4

How do you measure whether AEO is working?

Accepted Answer

We establish an onsite technical baseline, then track citation behavior over time using Canonry, a source-available AEO operating system. Together, those measurements show both site readiness and how visibility changes across target prompts.

Question 5

What does a typical Canonry engagement look like?

Accepted Answer

Canonry Managed starts with a free onsite technical audit on a key page. From there, we assess target prompts, identify the most relevant gaps, and implement the technical, content, and monitoring work end to end.

Question 6

Do you only work with NYC businesses?

Accepted Answer

No. Canonry is based in New York City but works with clients nationwide and internationally. Geographic relevance matters for some industries like local services and hospitality, where city level entity signals move citations. For SaaS, professional services, or national brands, the same research driven AEO methodology applies regardless of where the buyer or business sits.

Question 7

How long until AEO results show up?

Accepted Answer

Technical fixes (schema, llms.txt, robots access) take effect immediately for crawlers, but visible citation changes usually take 2 to 8 weeks as AI models index the updates and retrain. Content depth and entity authority work can take longer. We give honest baselines and track results continuously through Canonry rather than promising fixed timelines.

Question 8

Can I inspect Canonry before working with you?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Canonry is source-available under the Functional Source License (FSL), and the 16-factor onsite technical methodology is published on this site. Teams can review the operating system and the scoring model before deciding how to engage.

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