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Module 5 · Lesson 5.1 · The answer in the first lines · 2 min

Writing pages AI engines cite: the answer in the first lines

Lesson 5.1 of the free AEO and GEO course: how to write pages that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can cite. Why the first lines matter, a before-and-after example, the three-step formula, and sections that answer on their own.

The video for this lesson is coming soon to YouTube. Meanwhile, the full transcript is right here.

Transcript

0:00Introduction

Lesson 5.1: the answer in the first lines.

0:05Why the first lines

When an AI engine answers by searching the web, it doesn't cite whole pages. It cites pieces of pages. It looks up a few pages for the question, pulls out the passages that answer it, and cites the source of those passages. That's why a clear answer, given right away, is much easier to extract than one buried at the bottom.

0:27Before and after

Look at this opening: in the ever-evolving landscape of the dental industry, there are many factors to consider. Three lines, and no information. Now this one: a dental implant in Denver usually costs between this much and that much. The price depends on three things. The answer is right there, and an engine can take it as it is.

0:49How to write it

The formula is simple: two or three sentences, then the rest. Name the topic, using the words of the question. Give the answer: the number, the yes or no, the choice. And only then explain: the conditions, the exceptions, the details.

1:11Every section, one answer

The same goes for every section of the page. A heading that's a question, or that clearly says what the section is about. And underneath, an answer that stands on its own: the first forty to sixty words should answer the heading, even when they're read without the rest of the page. No creative, vague headings: an engine looks for the words of the question.

1:35Not just for AI

And you're not doing this just for AI: people read this way too. They scroll the page, look for the answer, and only stay if they find it right away.

1:45Your task for today

Your task for today: pick a page tied to a question where you're not cited. Rewrite its first hundred words: topic, answer, then the rest. And fix three sections, each with a clear heading and the answer in the first lines.

2:16Next lesson

In the next lesson: structure, with headings, lists and tables. See you there.

Your task

Pick a page tied to a question where you're not cited. Rewrite its first hundred words: topic, answer, then the rest. And fix three sections, each with a clear heading and the answer in the first lines.

Track it in the course worksheet.

Sources

  • Method: the answer in the first two or three sentences, then the detail; headings that carry the words of the question; self-contained sections whose first 40–60 words answer the heading. See What Is AEO? Answer Engine Optimization vs GEO vs SEO («Answer first»: a heading that is the customer's question, the answer in the first two sentences, then the detail). The 40–60 words guideline comes from CiteProof's Italian article. It is a recommended practice, not a rule published by the engines, and the lesson presents it that way.
  • Examples (a dental implant in Denver, prices left blank) are illustrative, labelled on the slides, with no invented figures.
  • CiteProof: The SEO box in the editor: what to do, with the button that does it: under every post, a score for how easy the page is to cite, at most three things to do, and «It needs a short answer at the top» with the button that has the platform write it.