AEO guide 04
Answer the questions customers actually ask, in plain text, with the answer near the top and details only your business could give. Honest price ranges, real service areas, and dated updates give AI assistants something specific to cite, while generic filler and mass-produced pages give them nothing and can break Google's spam policies.
← All answer engine optimization guidanceList real questions
Answer first
Add first-hand detail
Publish as plain text
Date honest updates
Why this matters
When someone asks an AI assistant how much a repair costs or whether a business serves their area, the assistant searches the web and builds an answer from pages it finds. Google says the same basics that help in regular search apply to its AI features, and it asks for unique, first-hand content rather than generic advice anyone could write. A page that states a clear answer with real detail is easier to use than one that talks around the question.
Where your website sits in this has also changed. Industry reporting says Google Business Profile Q&A has been discontinued, so owners can no longer post their own answers there. Your website is now the main place you control the answer to common questions. One industry study (Whitespark, 540 searches in 3 cities) found AI Overviews on almost all local cost questions it tested, which makes an honest cost page one of the most useful pages a service business can publish.
Responsible practices
Google contrasts commodity content, such as a generic "7 tips" article, with first-hand content such as "Why We Waived the Inspection & Saved Money". Use your own jobs, photos, processes, and local conditions. If a competitor could publish the same paragraph unchanged, it adds little.
Start each page or section with a one- or two-sentence direct answer, then explain. Microsoft's Bing guidance recommends clear headings, lists, tables, and self-contained answers. Google says you don't need a special writing style or to chop pages into tiny pieces for AI, so write naturally and clearly for customers.
Give a real range you actually charge, the factors that move the price, what is included, and when the range was last checked. Never invent a number to look competitive. Health and legal businesses should say a final price or outcome depends on an evaluation, and check wording with a qualified adviser, because professional advertising rules apply.
Create a page for each real service and for areas you genuinely serve, each with details specific to that service or place. Google's spam policies name using AI tools to generate many pages without adding value as scaled content abuse. Twenty near-identical "[service] in [town]" pages are a risk, not an asset.
Put prices, hours, service areas, menus, and policies in normal page text, not only in PDFs, images, or hidden tabs. Bing advises against hiding key information in tabs, accordions, PDFs, or images, and Google says important content should be in text.
Add a real "last updated" date when you change a page, and don't change the date without changing the content. Name the owner or tradesperson who wrote or checked the page, with relevant licenses or experience you can verify. These help customers trust the page, whatever an AI does with them.
Worked example
Hypothetical example: a plumbing company rewrites its water heater page. Bracketed items are placeholders for the company's own real figures and details; never publish a range you have not checked against your recent jobs.
The after version gives a customer and an AI assistant a clear, specific answer that only this business could write. Keep the range honest and update it when your prices change.
Content fixes
List the ten questions customers ask most on the phone and check whether your site answers each one.
Add a one- or two-sentence direct answer at the top of your main service pages.
Write or update one cost page with a real range, price factors, and a last-updated date.
Move prices, hours, and menus out of PDFs and images into page text.
Remove or merge near-duplicate town pages that add nothing specific.
Show you every page draft, including any AI-assisted text, and confirm prices and claims with you before publishing.
Turn key facts currently in PDFs, images, or hidden tabs into regular page text with clear headings.
Keep a record of each page's real update dates and what changed.
Avoid these mistakes
AI assistants decide what to show, change often, and can give different answers to different people, so mentions, citations, and recommendations are not guaranteed.
Questions business owners ask
Not really. Google says you don't need to write in a special way or break content into tiny pieces for its AI features. Microsoft's Bing recommends clear headings, lists, and self-contained answers. Both point to the same thing: clear pages that answer the question directly, written for customers.
A range with the factors that change it is usually more useful than no number at all, and it is what customers are asking AI assistants for. Base the range on your own recent jobs, say what is included, and date it. If you truly cannot give a range, explain what the quote depends on and how to get one.
Google allows AI-assisted content, but it must be accurate and useful, and generating many pages without adding value can break its spam policies. Use AI as a drafting aid, then add your own experience, check every fact and price, and have a real person approve it.
Google stopped showing FAQ rich results in May 2026, but answering common questions on your site is still useful for customers and for assistants that read your pages. Keep answers short and specific. Any FAQ markup can stay, but it no longer earns a special display.
Primary guidance
Make your pages worth citing