Free Buyer's-Eye Audit
Menu
Free Buyer's-Eye Audit

Page Level Marketing · AI search optimization

AI search optimization for manufacturers: AEO and GEO that get you named when buyers ask AI

AI assistants can only recommend what's written down. We test what they say about you, trace each miss to a missing sentence on your site, and write the pages they can read and quote. It's the AI half of manufacturing SEO, built from the same verified capabilities.

Get your free Buyer's-Eye Audit How we test AI answers
Sheet 401, The Hoist Says 15 Tons: as said and released (illustration)Sheet 401, The Hoist Says 15 Tons, drawn as two panels. Illustration: the shop, Granite Ridge Machine Works, and every figure are invented. Left, REV A, as said: a bridge crane hook block whose rated load plate reads SWL 15 T. Beside it a lift scale carries a red dashed ghost dimension, 20 to 30 T, marked AI, while the true 15 T is only pencilled, not on the site. An AI assistant card answers an engineer who asked who can machine a 25-ton casting: Granite Ridge routinely handles 20 to 30 tons on a 40 to 45 foot mill, no certifications. The shop's capabilities page states its lift, mill travel and certifications nowhere. A red stamp reads: As AI describes you, not for construction. Caption: the site is silent, so the AI guesses 20 to 30 tons. Right, REV F, released: the same hook block. The capacity page states max lift SWL 15 T, mill travel 240 inches, ISO 9001 and ITAR registered, sourced to the rated load plate. The AI's 20 to 30 T dimension is struck through and the 15 T dimension is inked in gold. A note reads Ask AI again: planned. Plate: Released, illustration, not a promise. Caption: released, the capacity page says SWL 15 T.665544332211DDCCBBAAREV AAS SAIDAS AI DESCRIBES THE SHOPREV FRELEASEDTHE SHOP AS BUILTSHTTITLESUBJECTREVSCALEDRAWNSTATUS401The Hoist Says 15 TonsWhen your site is silent, AI guesses.GRANITE RIDGE MACHINE WORKSgraniteridge-mw.test · BAY 2 HOISTFNTSINDUSTRIALMARKETINGILLUSTRATIONINVENTED FIGURESBRIDGE GIRDER · BAY 2SWL 15 T051015202530 TRATED LIFT20–30 T (AI)15 T · NOT ON SITEAI ASSISTANT · 10:40 PMQ WHO CAN MACHINE A25-TON CASTING?A GRANITE RIDGEROUTINELY HANDLES20 TO 30 TONS,ON A 40–45 FT MILL.NO CERTIFICATIONS.graniteridge-mw.testCAPABILITIESLIFTNOT STATEDCERTSNOT STATEDTRAVELNOT STATEDAS AI DESCRIBES YOUNOT FOR CONSTRUCTIONBRIDGE GIRDER · BAY 2SWL 15 T051015202530 TRATED LIFT20–30 T (AI)SWL 15 T · STATEDgraniteridge-mw.test/capacityCAPACITY & PROOFMAX LIFTSWL 15 TMILL TRAVEL240 INCERTIFICATIONSISO 9001ITAR REGISTEREDSOURCERATED LOAD PLATE, BAY 2CERTIFICATES LINKEDASK AI AGAIN: PLANNEDRELEASEDILLUSTRATION, NOT A PROMISEThe site is silent, so AI guesses 20 to 30 tons.Released: the capacity page says SWL 15 T.

The Hoist Says 15 Tons

Watch the story

Part of Page Level Marketing

What AEO and GEO mean for a manufacturer

AEO (answer engine optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) are two names for one job: when a buyer asks an AI assistant who can make a part, the answer should come from your own facts. Generative engine optimization for manufacturing starts with the facts a buyer screens on.

For a manufacturer that means numbers and proof: envelope, weight, tolerance, materials, volumes, certifications, registrations. For a distributor or a lab it means stock, scope and accreditations. Written plainly on your pages, they give AI something to quote. Left out, they leave a gap AI fills with a guess.

How we test

We test with your buyers' own questions, asked on a stated date and graded against your Blueprint.

  1. OP 10

    Write the buyer questions

    Ten to twenty sourcing questions per market, in the buyer's words: 'Who can machine a 25-ton casting?', 'Which coaters run electroless nickel to Class 4?', 'Who builds IP67 overmolded cable assemblies?'

  2. OP 20

    Ask on a stated date

    We put the questions to the AI assistants we test, record the date, and keep every answer word for word.

  3. OP 30

    Grade against the Blueprint

    Each answer is marked right, guessed, wrong or 'I don't know', checked against your verified capabilities. Anything that contradicts your record is checked a second time.

  4. OP 40

    Trace each miss

    Every wrong or missing answer points to a fact your site doesn't state, or states where AI can't read it.

What AI can't tell your buyers

AI can't tell your buyers what your site never states, so it guesses, and the guesses read as facts. Rows marked 'Dated test' come from one real test, with its method on the results page. Rows marked 'Example' are made up.

Buyer's questionWhat AI saidWhat's true on the floorSource
Heaviest part you can lift?'Routinely handles 20 to 30 tons'15-ton hoistDated test · large-part shop
Machine travel?'40 to 45+ feet'240 in.Dated test · large-part shop
Certifications?'No certifications'ISO 9001, AS9100D, ITAR registeredDated test · large-part shop
How does the dryer work?Belt-drivenBelt-freeDated test · equipment maker
Cleanroom assembly?'I don't know'ISO Class 7 cleanroomExample · medical supplier
Salt-spray rating?A competitor's figure1,000 hrs to ASTM B117Example · coater

What we fix: records AI can read

We fix the records AI reads: your capability pages, certifications, answers, structured data, and the facts others publish about you.

Proof

One anonymized test. Full method on the results page.

  • 0 / 3 / 7

    pass / partial / fail on ten buyer questions, graded against one equipment maker's website

How we measure it

We measure AEO by asking the same buyer questions on stated dates and comparing the answers with your verified facts. The report sets them side by side: what AI said before, what it says after, and which page it drew from.

Alongside that we track search queries and clicks, RFQs by page, and the companies SiteSonar names reading the new pages. SiteSonar is always on and names the company behind each visit.

How to buy this

  1. OP 10

    Blueprint first

    Paid, and your first month with us, led by Matt Barden. The test grades AI against it, so it comes first.

  2. OP 20

    Pick a program

    AEO runs month to month alongside SEO, inside a program.

  3. OP 30

    First test, first pages

    We run the dated test, then write the pages that close the biggest misses.

Questions

What does AEO for a manufacturer include?

A dated test of buyer questions, a list of misses traced to your site, the pages and structured data that close them, and a planned re-test.

What is the difference between AEO and GEO?

For a manufacturer, none that changes the work. Both mean making your facts easy for AI assistants to find, read and quote.

How do you measure AI search visibility?

By asking the same buyer questions on stated dates and comparing the answers with your verified facts. No single score, and no promise of citations.

What does AEO cost, and which program includes it?

It's scoped inside a program, after the Blueprint. We scope it with you on the review call after your free Buyer's-Eye Audit and put it in writing before you commit.

Is SEO still worth it now that buyers use AI?

Yes. AI assistants read the same pages search engines rank. A page that states your facts plainly does both jobs.

Find out what AI tells your buyers

We'll pick the questions your buyers ask and the markets you want more of. Every program starts with a paid Blueprint.

Get your free Buyer's-Eye Audit Start with a Blueprint