How many questions should I start with?

Fifteen for measurement, five to ten for pages. More than that in one pass usually means thinner writing.

Do I need a developer?

Only to add JSON-LD and confirm the page renders in HTML. Most CMS platforms let you paste both.

Can I use AI to write the pages?

You can use it to draft, but the final page must be checked for accuracy, sources, and tone. Engines quote clear, correct pages.

What if my score does not improve?

Check whether the pages answer in the first screen and whether your site is being crawled. If both are true, the questions may be too broad.

How do I do generative engine optimization?

Author: AnswerBuild desk · Updated: September 2026

Generative engine optimization is a repeatable process: collect real customer questions, test them in four engines, publish one answer page per question, and rerun the same prompts after 30 days. Here is what the work involves, so you know what you are paying for — and what to look for if you hire someone else.

Collecting the questions

The audit starts with your inbox, phone notes, and front-desk conversations, not a keyword tool. The best prompts are sentences your customers have already said. We build this list with you in one working session.

The baseline snapshot

Fifteen questions go through ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The answers are saved, and each result is scored 0, 1, or 2: not mentioned, cited, or named. That score is your starting point, and it is what later runs get compared against.

Choosing winnable questions

Broad category questions are usually owned by national brands. The wins are local, constrained, specific questions where a small site can be the best available source. Picking those correctly is the difference between pages that move and pages that sit.

What a finished page includes

— The question as the H1.
— The answer in the first 80 words.
— Who it is for and not for.
— Steps, a comparison, or a price range where relevant.
— Named sources.
— Four real FAQs with FAQPage JSON-LD.
— Visible author and updated date.

Publishing and the 30-day rerun

Each page is published so it renders in HTML and linked from a page that already gets crawled. After 30 days, the identical fifteen prompts run again and scores are compared. If an engine states something wrong about you, the page gets fixed. The prompt wording never changes between runs, or the comparison is meaningless.

Want this done for you?

This is exactly what an AnswerBuild package delivers: the audit, the pages, the schema, and the rerun. See the pricing page or contact us to talk through your questions first.

Sources

Crawler guidance comes from Google Search Central. Engine-specific behavior comes from OpenAI, xAI, and Perplexity documentation.

FAQ

How many questions should I start with?: Fifteen for measurement, five to ten for pages. More than that in one pass usually means thinner writing.
Do I need a developer?: Only to add JSON-LD and confirm the page renders in HTML. Most CMS platforms let you paste both.
Can I use AI to write the pages?: You can use it to draft, but the final page must be checked for accuracy, sources, and tone. Engines quote clear, correct pages.
What if my score does not improve?: Check whether the pages answer in the first screen and whether your site is being crawled. If both are true, the questions may be too broad.