— Answer Engine Optimization
Someone just asked AI
who to trust.
AI gave them a name.
Was it yours?
Your patients, clients, and new customers are no longer just Googling. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews for recommendations by name. AEO is how you become the name they get back.
With 25+ years in brand strategy and a deep background in SEO, I saw the shift to answer engines coming before most agencies had even heard the term. I’ve been building AEO authority for clients while their competitors’ marketing teams were still focused on keyword rankings.
70%
of Google searches now end with zero clicks
AI answers the question before anyone visits a website. If you’re not the answer AI gives, you don’t exist.
25%
projected decline in traditional search by 2026
Gartner. The shift is already underway. Aesthetic practices relying only on SEO are losing ground right now.
35%
drop in clicks since AI Overviews launched
Ahrefs. AI Overviews answer the question in the search results. Your website never gets the visit.
— The Problem
AI is answering your clients’ questions.
Just not with your name.
A prospective client opens ChatGPT and types a question. AI gives them an answer, a recommendation, sometimes a name. That name is your competitor’s.
This isn’t a future problem. It’s happening right now in cosmetic surgery, aesthetics, dermatology, and medical branding. The practices and brands that show up in AI answers are building authority that compounds. The ones that don’t are becoming invisible — even if their SEO looks fine.
SEO gets you ranked. AEO gets you cited. They are not the same thing, and only one of them matters when AI is answering the question.
— Why Aesthetic Medicine
This space has an AEO opportunity most practices are completely missing.
Aesthetic medicine is one of the highest-intent, highest-trust search categories on the internet. Patients are making significant financial and physical decisions. They research deeply, ask nuanced questions, and increasingly turn to AI for guidance they can trust.
Most practices are still fighting over Google rankings. Almost none have an AEO strategy. That gap is your opportunity — right now, before your competitors figure it out.
◎
High-intent patients
Patients asking AI about procedures are ready to book. Being the answer AI gives is the highest-quality lead in the market.
✦
Trust is everything
AI recommends sources it deems authoritative. Thought leadership, earned media, and entity clarity are how you earn that designation.
◈
Virtually no competition
Almost no aesthetic practice has an AEO strategy. First movers will build authority that becomes nearly impossible to displace.
→
Compounds over time
Unlike paid ads that stop the moment you stop paying, AEO authority builds and strengthens. Every piece of content, every citation adds up.
— What Is AEO
Search has changed.
The strategy has to change with it.
Old World — SEO
- Patient types keywords: “cosmetic surgeon NYC”
- Gets 10 blue links and researches themselves
- Clicks through multiple sites to compare
- Your ranking determines if they find you
- SEO optimizes for Google’s algorithm
New World — AEO
- Patient asks AI: “Who is the best surgeon for festoon removal near me?”
- AI gives one complete answer — often with a name
- No clicking. No comparing. One recommendation.
- Your authority determines if you’re the answer
- AEO builds the signals AI trusts and cites
— What I deliver
Six things that make AI
choose your name.
◎
AEO Audit
A complete assessment of how AI currently understands and represents your brand. Where you show up, where you don’t, and exactly what’s preventing you from being cited.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Google AI
Gemini
✦
Entity & Authority Strategy
AI learns who you are from signals across the web. I build and clarify your entity — your name, expertise, credentials, and positioning — so AI can confidently recommend you.
Entity clarity
Structured data
Knowledge signals
◈
Content Authority Architecture
AI-resistant content that establishes you as the definitive source in your specialty. Original insights, proprietary perspective, and structured formats that AI cites rather than summarizes.
Topical authority
Original research
FAQs
→
Earned Media for AEO
AI draws heavily from third-party sources. Strategic press coverage in authoritative outlets trains AI to cite you. Every earned mention is an AEO signal that compounds.
PR strategy
Thought leadership
Citation building
◉
3P Influence Strategy
Owning your website is not enough. I build your presence across the web — reviews, directories, publications, associations — so AI encounters you everywhere it looks.
Directories
Reviews
Associations
Syndication
★
Ongoing AEO Management
AI models update constantly. What works today shifts. I monitor how AI represents your brand across all major platforms and keep your authority ahead of every update.
Monthly monitoring
Entity clarity
Ongoing optimization
— AEO in Action
From unknown to world’s foremost expert.
That’s category creation.
“Elizabeth didn’t just market our practice. She built the category we now lead — and made sure the world knew we led it.”
Dr. Adam Scheiner was a skilled surgeon in a crowded market. Elizabeth identified a procedure — festoon removal — that he performed better than anyone. She built the category around him, created the language the field now uses, and positioned him as the world’s foremost expert on festoon removal in aesthetic medicine.
The result: AI doesn’t just mention Dr. Scheiner when asked about festoon removal. In many cases, AI names him as the authority. That’s not SEO. That’s AEO — earned through content, authority, and strategic positioning built over time.
#1
AI-cited authority for festoon removal
2025
Best Surgical Facial Rejuvenation · AMWC Monaco
77
International experts who named him the only US honoree
∞
Category he owns — because no one else built it first
“The brands that AI cites earned the right to be cited.”
— Elizabeth Kanna
— How it Works
The AEO process.
From audit to authority.
01
AEO Audit
We assess how AI currently sees you across every major platform. What it says, what it misses, and what’s blocking you from being cited.
02
Authority Strategy
We build your entity clarity, identify the questions you need to own, and map the content and third-party presence required to become AI’s go-to source.
03
Content & Positioning
Original, AI-resistant content that establishes genuine expertise. Structured for the way AI reads, reasons, and recommends — not just for keywords.
04
Earn & Distribute
Strategic press, thought leadership, and third-party presence that puts your authority in the places AI trusts most — publications, associations, and directories.
05
Monitor & Maintain
AI models update constantly. We monitor your citations across platforms, track how AI represents you, and continuously strengthen your position.
— Who is this for?
Built for brands and practices
where trust is the product.
✦
Cosmetic Surgeons & Aesthetic Practices
You’re in one of the highest-trust, highest-intent search categories on the internet. Patients are asking AI who to see. AEO makes sure they get your name.
◎
Aesthetic & Beauty Brands
When AI recommends skincare, treatments, or products, it cites brands it considers authoritative. AEO builds that authority through content, presence, and earned recognition.
◈
Medical Professionals & Thought Leaders
Dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medspas, wellness brands. If your reputation is your business, AEO is how you protect and grow it in the AI era.
— Questions
What you’re probably
wondering.
AEO is new enough that most people have questions. Here are the ones I hear most often.
If something isn’t covered here, ask me directly.
No. SEO optimizes for search engines that return lists of links. AEO optimizes for answer engines that return a single, direct recommendation. They require different strategies, different content approaches, and different authority signals. Your SEO still matters — AEO adds what SEO can’t do alone.
AEO builds compounding authority, which means results develop over 3 to 6 months and strengthen from there. Some elements — like entity clarity and structured data — can shift AI responses faster. Others, like earned media and third-party presence, build over time. The earlier you start, the harder your position becomes to displace.
No. Your existing SEO skills and investments have real value and should continue. AEO expands what you’re doing — it adds the signals and strategies that make AI recommend you, which SEO alone doesn’t address.
We track how AI represents you across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Claude. We monitor whether your name appears in response to the questions your patients are asking, and how your citations, authority signals, and third-party presence grow over time.
Most AEO consultants come from a technical SEO background. Elizabeth comes from brand strategy, category creation, and earned media — which is exactly what AEO actually requires. AEO is not a technical fix. It’s a brand authority strategy. That’s what she has built for 25+ years.
With an AEO Audit. We assess exactly how AI currently sees your brand, identify the gaps, and build a prioritized strategy. It’s the foundation everything else is built on — and it gives you a clear picture of where you stand right now.
No. SEO optimizes for search engines that return lists of links. AEO optimizes for answer engines that return a single, direct recommendation. They require different strategies, different content approaches, and different authority signals. Your SEO still matters — AEO adds what SEO can’t do alone.
AEO builds compounding authority, which means results develop over 3 to 6 months and strengthen from there. Some elements — like entity clarity and structured data — can shift AI responses faster. Others, like earned media and third-party presence, build over time. The earlier you start, the harder your position becomes to displace.
No. Your existing SEO skills and investments have real value and should continue. AEO expands what you’re doing — it adds the signals and strategies that make AI recommend you, which SEO alone doesn’t address.
We track how AI represents you across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Claude. We monitor whether your name appears in response to the questions your patients are asking, and how your citations, authority signals, and third-party presence grow over time.
Most AEO consultants come from a technical SEO background. Elizabeth comes from brand strategy, category creation, and earned media — which is exactly what AEO actually requires. AEO is not a technical fix. It’s a brand authority strategy. That’s what she has built for 25+ years.
With an AEO Audit. We assess exactly how AI currently sees your brand, identify the gaps, and build a prioritized strategy. It’s the foundation everything else is built on — and it gives you a clear picture of where you stand right now.
— Start Here
Find out if AI is sending
patients to you — or your competitor.
The AEO Audit is where every engagement starts. Elizabeth will be in touch within 24 hours.