How long does AEO take to start working

AEO content typically starts getting cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity within 2-6 weeks of publishing, assuming the content is structured correctly and lives on a domain with at least minimal authority. The full curve takes 90 days to settle — which questions you win, which need rewrites, and which need follow-up content.

The realistic curve

• Week 1-2. Content is published and submitted. Crawlers begin indexing.
• Week 2-4. First AI citations appear, usually for the most specific, lowest-competition questions.
• Week 4-8. Pattern emerges — some pages get cited regularly, others don't.
• Week 8-12. Iterate. Rewrite the underperforming pages. Double down on what's working.
• After 90 days. Stable citation rate, with new pages added on top.

What slows it down

• A brand-new domain with no history.
• No backlinks pointing to the answer pages.
• Pages buried four clicks deep with no internal links.
• No FAQPage schema.
• 3,000-word fluff instead of direct answers.

What speeds it up

• An existing domain with some authority.
• Internal linking from your homepage to the answer hub.
• Submitting the sitemap to Google Search Console immediately.
• Manually pasting each answer URL into Perplexity once (it crawls on first encounter).
• Publishing weekly so crawlers learn your site is fresh.

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