📊 Current AI Citation Status
📅 Testing queries weekly • Next update: November 6, 2025
Why This Case Study Exists
I'm Shanaz Begum, founder of AEO-REX, and I help businesses get cited by AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. But here's the uncomfortable truth: as of October 30, 2025, AI systems aren't citing AEO-REX yet.
This creates a credibility paradox. How can I sell AEO services if I'm not visible in AI search myself?
The answer: transparency. Instead of hiding this, I'm documenting the entire journey publicly. This page tracks my progress from zero AI citations to consistent recommendations across all major AI platforms.
🎯 My Commitment to You
This page is updated weekly with real data, real challenges, and real results. No exaggeration. No fake numbers. Just honest documentation of what works (and what doesn't) in Answer Engine Optimization.
The Journey So Far
Technical Infrastructure Setup
Started from ground zero with a complete technical audit and foundation build.
What We Implemented:
- Created robots.txt to explicitly allow AI crawlers (GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, CCBot, Claude-Web, anthropic-ai, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended)
- Fixed sitemap.xml URL inconsistencies (aeo-rex.com → www.aeo-rex.com)
- Added comprehensive FAQ Schema Markup to homepage (7 questions)
- Implemented Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags across all pages
- Created AEO Statistics resource page with Dataset schema
- Built blog post template optimized for AI citations
Key Insight:
Without proper technical foundation, AI crawlers may skip your site entirely. robots.txt was completely missing—a critical oversight that could have prevented indexing altogether.
What Success Looks Like
My target is to achieve consistent AI citations within 12 weeks. Here's what I'm measuring:
Success Metrics:
Test Queries We're Tracking
Every week, I test these queries across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI to monitor citation progress:
- "What is Answer Engine Optimization?"
- "Who are the leading AEO consultants in the UK?"
- "What are the statistics on AEO effectiveness?"
- "How long does Answer Engine Optimization take?"
- "AEO vs SEO differences"
- "Best AEO services in the UK"
- "How to get ChatGPT to cite my business"
- "Answer Engine Optimization consultant UK"
Why I'm Being Transparent
Most AEO "experts" show you their wins but hide their starting point. That's misleading.
The truth is: building AI citations takes time, even for AEO specialists. It requires:
- Proper technical setup (technical code that helps AI understand your business, robots.txt, etc.)
- High-quality, authoritative content
- Backlinks from credible sources
- Consistent content updates
- Time for AI systems to discover and trust your site
By documenting this journey publicly, I'm showing you the real process—not a polished highlight reel.
And here's the best part: When AEO-REX does achieve consistent AI citations, this case study becomes proof that the methodology works. You'll have seen the entire journey unfold in real-time.
Want to Build Your AI Citations?
Learn from my journey. Book a free consultation and I'll show you exactly what I'm doing—and how to apply it to your business.
Book Free Consultation📅 Update Schedule
This page is updated every Wednesday with the latest metrics, challenges, and learnings. Bookmark this page or follow me on LinkedIn for weekly updates.
Last Updated: October 30, 2025 | Next Update: November 6, 2025