Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Make Your Institution Visible in the Age of AI-Driven Student Search

Students searching for information on colleges and universities are no longer typing keywords into a search engine and clicking through a list of results. They’re asking AI platforms, like ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, and others, direct questions about programs, outcomes, cost, and fit.

Those answers shape perception long before a student ever visits a website. Many institutions don’t know what those answers say.

Carnegie’s Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) solution changes that.

Built specifically for higher education, our AEO solution helps institutions influence how AI engines understand, summarize, and surface their programs, content, and brand, strengthening visibility, credibility, and student connection at the earliest stage of discovery.

See How You Show Up in AI Search

If your institution isn’t showing up in these responses, you’re invisible in critical decision moments.

65%

Of Gen Z and Gen Alpha begin their college search with AI tools

80%

Of higher education content has low AI visibility

Introducing Carnegie’s AEO for Higher Ed

Carnegie’s AEO service helps institutions influence how AI platforms interpret, summarize, and surface their content.

Establish Clarity with the AEO Audit

Our AEO Audit provides a clear, data-driven view of how your institution appears in AI-generated answers across priority topics, audiences, and competitors. Over a 30-day period, Carnegie evaluates visibility, sentiment, and competitive positioning to answer critical questions, including:

How often your institution appears in AI-generated responses
What AI engines say about your brand, programs, and outcomes
How your visibility compares to competitors and aspirational institutions
Where narrative, content, and structural gaps limit discoverability
What actions will most effectively strengthen AI search presence

Build and Sustain Visibility Through AEO Activation

For institutions ready to act on those insights, AEO Activation moves from understanding to execution. Carnegie partners with your team to continuously improve how your institution is interpreted and surfaced across AI-driven search experiences. Activation includes:

Ongoing optimization of content, structure, and AI-facing signals
Refinement of institutional narratives to improve accuracy, trust, and clarity
Recommendations for technical enhancements that support AI interpretation and discovery
Content development to support AI visibility across priority prompts
Continuous monitoring to adapt to platform changes and student behavior

Why Carnegie’s AEO Leads the Way in AI Search Visibility

Carnegie’s AEO solution is designed specifically for higher education and combines industry-leading technology with enrollment strategy, brand expertise, and decades of leadership in SEO, search and performance-driven discoverability.

We don’t just measure whether your institution appears in AI-generated answers. We help you understand why, how, and what to do next.

Ready to Strengthen AI Visibility and Student Discovery?

AI-powered discovery is shaping student perception long before they reach your website. Our AEO service gives your team the clarity, competitive insight, and direction needed to strengthen visibility where students are now asking their most important questions.

Take the first step toward stronger AI visibility and smarter student connection.