AEO Manager
$80–$100,000 year
HybridChicago, Illinois, United States
Job Summary
Own AEO performance with a revenue growth mindset by driving strategies that increase how often, accurately, and favorably clients are cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Deliver full-spectrum AEO solutions including technical audits of structured data, entity optimization, and content architecture built for retrieval. Act as a strategic thought partner to B2B clients, uncovering the "why" behind their needs and aligning tactics with broader business objectives. Compile insights and reports that connect AI-answer visibility directly to pipeline growth and sales conversations. Manage multiple client engagements with competing priorities, evaluating opportunities based on business impact and communicating tradeoffs clearly.
Required Qualifications
- 1-3+ years of hands-on experience in AEO / AI search optimization
- Proven ability to connect AEO performance, citation frequency, AI-driven referral traffic, share of voice in AI-generated answers, with lead gen and revenue outcomes
- Deep understanding of how AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews/AI Mode, Copilot, Gemini) retrieve, summarize, and cite content
- Proficiency with AI-visibility and citation-tracking platforms (e.g., Profound, Otterly.ai, Peec AI, or Semrush's AI visibility toolkit)
- Proficiency with GA4 and Looker Studio for measuring AI-referral traffic and downstream outcomes
- Experience using AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.) both as the platforms you're optimizing for and as working tools to accelerate content creation and workflow
- Strong strategic thinking and storytelling ability
- Independent, self-motivated, and comfortable managing multiple projects across industries
- Experience working on a team, for both thought partnership and delegation
- Hybrid work arrangement
- Chicagoland location
Desired Qualifications
- Background in technical SEO or content strategy
- Comfort navigating CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce
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