Learn / AEO Learning Center
Book a 30-minute growth review. Engagements start at $5,000/month.
AEO Learning Center
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is how B2B companies get named and cited when buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Google AI Overviews for recommendations. This learning center is the map. Use it to learn the basics, price a pilot, hire the right partner, and measure whether AI engines actually recommend you.
Each hub below is a short briefing with start-here links to the keepers already live on austinheaton.com. Money pages and booking links sit next to the education so you can move from reading to a 30-minute review without hunting.
What you will find here: definitions, pricing floors, hiring criteria, engine-by-engine playbooks, industry pages, measurement stacks, and citation or authority work. The A to Z reference is the AEO Glossary. If you already know the gap you care about, jump straight to that hub. If you want a live read of where competitors show up instead of you, book a call.
Engagements start at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum. Local AEO add-on is $3,000/month. White-label AEO is offered for agencies. Details live on /pricing.
Start here
- AEO Basics
- AEO Pricing and Budget
- Hiring an AEO Partner
- Get Recommended by AI
- AEO by Industry
- Measuring AI Visibility
- Citations and Authority
- AEO Glossary (A to Z)
What it costs
Engagements start at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum. Local AEO add-on is $3,000/month. White-label AEO is offered for agencies. Full detail: /pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I start?
Start with AEO Basics if you are new. Jump to Measuring AI Visibility if you need a baseline. Open Hiring an AEO Partner when you are ready to buy.
Why are hubs not under /learn/ yet?
Nested paths need a Webflow page folder created in Designer. Content is live at root slugs today and will move under /learn when the folder is available.
How do I book?
Use the Book a Call buttons. They open Calendly with UTM tags so we know which hub you came from.
What is this learning center for?
It maps AEO topics into hubs with start-here keepers, pricing floors, and booking links so you can go from reading to a 30-minute review.
How much do engagements cost?
Engagements start at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum. Local AEO add-on is $3,000/month. White-label is offered. See /pricing.
Where is the A to Z glossary?
The AEO Glossary at /aeo-glossary is the A to Z reference linked from this index.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Austin Heaton.
Next step: get a live read of where AI engines recommend competitors instead of you.
What Austin Does in the Consultant Seat
Strategy plus the workThis is not a strategy deck handed to a junior team. Austin owns the commercial pages, the entity signals, and the technical foundation that get you cited.
Comparisons, alternatives, and use cases your category already loses to review sites
Mentions, schema, and knowledge-graph signals so models can name you correctly
Crawl access, structured data, and page architecture AI systems can retrieve
Commercial content for buyers already comparing vendors - not another TOFU blog
Citation work across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews
AEO + SEO strategist or fractional search lead - one senior owner
Cases Already on This Site.
Documented on this siteThese are the live case studies. Same numbers as the portfolio.
6,000%+ impression growth, featured next to DocuSign in 11 days
Read the Pactvera case study →310.8% AI search growth and #1 citation share at 7.79%
Read the iSpeedToLead case study →Free AEO Report Card
We review where your site loses visibility across technical, on-site, and off-site - then send the exact fixes.
Get My Free Report Card →Clients & Partners
FAQ
AEO + SEO strategist vs SEO-only team - what is the actual decision?
You are choosing who owns Google and AI search, and whether that person also does the work.
An AEO + SEO strategist or fractional search lead is a senior owner who ships money pages, entity work, technical SEO, and citations. An SEO-only team is a full-time seat. That hire still needs writers, PR, and tech unless you fund those too.
How much does an SEO-only team cost?
The homepage FAQ already states it: hiring a senior SEO or AEO leader often costs $150,000 - $250,000+ annually after salary, benefits, software, contractors, and content production expenses.
That is the fully loaded seat - not just base salary. If the consultant model fits, we scope it on a call.
When should we hire SEO-only instead?
Hire SEO-only when you need a full-time people manager, a large team already in the building, and someone inside every internal political loop.
Hire the consultant model when you need senior AEO now and one person who owns strategy and execution. Adjacent: AEO for B2B, AEO for FinTech, AEO for Crypto.
Does a SEO lead still need writers and PR?
Yes, in most companies. The title is leadership. The citations still come from commercial pages, entity mentions, and technical access. Austin's consultant seat covers strategy and that work.
What proof do you have?
Documented on this site. Lumanu: 656 AI-sourced clicks and 101 conversions in 60 days. Riseworks: 288% organic growth and 575% AI search expansion. Pactvera: 6,000%+ impression growth and placement next to DocuSign in 11 days. iSpeedToLead: 310.8% AI search growth and the #1 citation share at 7.79%. See the case studies.
How do we start?
Book a call. We look at whether you need a full-time SEO lead or a consultant / fractional owner. Book a call with Austin or use the contact page.
Ready to Choose the Hire?
If you need senior AEO ownership - and you are deciding consultant vs a full-time SEO lead - book the call. We will tell you which model fits.