AAO agency for AI agents Assistive Agent Optimization
Be the brand AI agents can find, understand and complete a task with.
A monthly engagement for the agentic web. AI assistants now do more than answer: they browse, compare, fill forms and check out for the people who use them. We test how real agents handle your site today, fix what stops them (rendering, labels, structured data, pricing, feeds, robots rules and checkout friction), and set up the machine-readable layer (llms.txt, product feeds, MCP and agentic commerce readiness) that lets an agent choose you and finish the job. Then we track agent visits and task success month over month.
- ChatGPT agent
- ChatGPT Instant Checkout
- Gemini in Chrome
- Perplexity Comet
- Claude for Chrome
- Microsoft Copilot
- MCP clients
Monthly · no lock-in
What is AAO (Assistive Agent Optimization)?
AAO is the work of making your website, app and product data easy for AI agents to find, understand and act on. Agents such as ChatGPT agent, Gemini in Chrome, Perplexity Comet and Claude browse, compare, fill forms and buy on a person’s behalf. AAO makes sure they can read your pages, trust your facts and complete the task on your site, instead of a competitor’s.
Why AAO matters now.
Search is moving from answers to actions. A buyer no longer only asks an AI which tool to use; they ask it to compare three, book the demo or place the order. The agent reads your site, not your ad, and it quietly skips anything it cannot parse or complete.
Most sites were built for human eyes: prices hidden in images, plans behind a calculator, forms with unlabeled fields and checkouts that block every bot. AAO fixes the layer agents actually use (clean HTML, accessible labels, structured data, feeds and APIs) so the task ends with you.
The AAO work, piece by piece.
Agent task testing
Real agents run your core journeys (find pricing, compare plans, book a demo, buy) and we log exactly where each one stalls or gives up.
Agent-readable pages
Server-rendered HTML, semantic headings, accessible names on every button and field, and prices and specs as text, not images.
Facts and structured data
Organization, Product, Offer, FAQ and HowTo schema, llms.txt and one consistent source of truth for price, availability and policies.
Feeds, APIs and MCP
Product feeds for ChatGPT and Google, Agentic Commerce Protocol readiness, and an MCP server scoped where agents need to query live data.
Frictionless actions
Forms, booking and checkout flows simplified so an agent can complete them, with guest checkout and clear errors instead of dead ends.
Access and trust
robots.txt rules for agent user agents, verified-bot handling and CAPTCHA settings that stop abuse without blocking the assistants your buyers use.
What the Assistive Agent Optimization engagement includes.
- Agent task audit: ChatGPT agent, Gemini, Perplexity Comet and Claude run through your key tasks, with every failure recorded
- Agent-readable pages: server-rendered HTML, semantic structure, accessible names and visible text pricing
- Structured data and facts layer: Organization, Product, Offer, FAQ and HowTo schema plus llms.txt, validated
- Agentic commerce readiness: product feeds, Agentic Commerce Protocol and MCP server scoping where it fits
- Agent access policy: robots.txt, bot verification and CAPTCHA rules that let trusted agents in
- Monthly agent traffic, task success rate and fixes report
AI agents can read your site, trust your facts and finish the task with you, so you are the brand they act on, not the one they skip.
A real consulting partnership. We work alongside you month to month, with meetings scheduled as you and we agree, and continue for as long as it adds value. No lock-in.
Get in touch →What we need from you
- Your website URL and the three tasks an agent should be able to finish (buy, book, sign up, compare)
- Read access to analytics and server or CDN logs, so we can see agent traffic
- A technical contact for schema, feed, robots.txt and form changes
Don’t have everything to hand? Share what you can; we’ll guide you on the rest when we kick off.
How the AAO engagement runs.
Task test
We pick the three tasks that make you money and run them through the major agents. You get a pass or fail per agent, per step.
Unblock
Rendering, labels, robots rules and bot settings fixed first, so agents can see and click everything that matters.
Describe
Structured data, llms.txt, feeds and a clean facts layer so agents compare you on accurate price, features and policies.
Measure
Agent visits from logs and GA4, task success rate and agent-driven conversions, reported every month.
SEO vs GEO vs AEO vs AAO: where AAO sits.
Four layers of the same job: be found, be quoted, be the answer, then be the brand an AI agent can act on. Most clients start with one and add the next as it compounds.
| Dimension | SEO | GEO | AEO | AAO · this page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank your pages in search results | Get named and cited in AI answers | Be the single direct answer | Let AI agents complete the task with you |
| Where it shows | Google and Bing blue links | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude | Featured snippets, PAA, voice, AI Overviews | ChatGPT agent, Gemini in Chrome, Comet, Claude |
| What wins | Technical health, intent pages, links | Quotable content, entities, mentions | Question headings, 40 to 60 word answers, schema | Readable HTML, labels, structured data, feeds |
| We measure | Impressions, clicks, positions | Share of answer by engine | Snippets and PAA boxes owned | Agent task success and agent visits |
Assistive Agent Optimization FAQ.
What is the difference between AAO, GEO and SEO?
SEO gets your pages ranked in search results. GEO gets your brand named and cited inside AI answers. AAO goes one step further: it makes sure an AI agent acting for a buyer can use your site to finish a task, such as comparing plans, booking a call or buying. A brand can be cited by ChatGPT and still lose the sale if the agent cannot complete checkout.
What does assistive agent optimization mean?
An assistive agent is an AI that acts on a person’s behalf: it browses, clicks, fills forms and transacts. Assistive agent optimization is the practice of designing your pages, data and flows so these agents can understand your offer and complete actions accurately.
Which AI agents does AAO cover?
ChatGPT agent and ChatGPT Instant Checkout, Gemini in Chrome and Google’s agentic features, Perplexity Comet, Claude for Chrome and computer use, Microsoft Copilot, and any MCP-compatible client. New agents ship often, so the test set is reviewed every month.
Do we need an MCP server or an API to be agent-ready?
Not to start. Most of the gains come from clean, server-rendered HTML, accessible forms, visible pricing and structured data. An MCP server or the Agentic Commerce Protocol makes sense when agents need live data such as inventory, quotes or bookings, and we scope that only when it pays off.
Will letting AI agents in expose us to bots and scraping?
No. AAO is selective access, not an open door. We separate the user-triggered agents your buyers use from bulk scrapers, apply robots.txt rules per user agent, use verified-bot signals where your CDN supports them, and keep rate limits and fraud checks in place.
How do you measure AAO?
Three numbers: agent task success rate (the share of test tasks each agent completes on your site), agent visits identified in server logs and GA4, and conversions that start in an AI assistant. All three are reported monthly against the fixes we shipped.
How much does AAO cost?
AAO is $1,500 per month, month to month with no lock-in. It pairs naturally with GEO, so many clients run both, or fold them into the Full Engagement.
Go deeper on AAO.
Your React site might be invisible to ChatGPT. Mine was.
Allowed in robots.txt, HTTP 200 for every bot, and still zero readable words. Why client-side rendering hides you from most AI crawlers, and how to fix it.
llms.txt vs robots.txt vs sitemap.xml: what each actually does for AI.
Three plain-text files at the root of your site. Two are standards every crawler reads. The third is a proposal with a lot of enthusiasm and, so far, very little evidence.
OAI-SearchBot vs GPTBot vs ChatGPT-User: what each one does, and what to block.
Many sites blocked GPTBot to stay out of AI training, then wondered why ChatGPT never mentions them. They usually blocked the wrong thing for the right reason.
Check it yourself, free.
AI crawler checker
Is GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot blocked on your site? Checks robots.txt and tests your CDN, bot by bot.
robots.txt AI policy generator
Pick a policy, such as "visible in AI search, no training", and get a commented robots.txt block for every AI bot. Merges with your existing file.
GA4 AI traffic regex generator
Track ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot visits in GA4. Generates the regex, channel group steps, a Looker Studio formula and a GTM variable.
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Other ways we can help.
App Store Optimization
Get found by the people already searching for what you do.
Search Engine Optimization
Rank where your buyers look first, and keep ranking.
Generative Engine Optimization
Get cited when buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI.
Answer Engine Optimization
Be the direct answer, not one of ten blue links.
Growth Consulting
A true monthly consulting partnership across every growth lever.
Ready for Assistive Agent Optimization?
Tell us a little about your product and we will get started, with real work that moves the needle.