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.
Quiet Machines implements an AI brain inside advisory firms in a 3-day on-site build. AI visibility audit →