Onono Corporation Launches New AEO (AI Engine Optimization) Consulting Service to Become a Company 'Chosen' by AI

Onono Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Ryusuke Ono; hereinafter "Onono") is pleased to announce the launch of its "AEO (AI Engine Optimization) Consulting" service. This service provides information design support to ensure that corporate information is correctly referenced, cited, and recommended when AI engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity generate responses. As a new search optimization for the ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity era, it supports the next step after SEO.

While SEO is a measure to "appear in search results," AEO is an information design aimed at "being correctly explained and recommended by AI." Onono offers AEO consulting that designs backward from the questions of "which questions," "in what role," and "how to appear."

## Why AEO Now? - Changes in the Decision-Making Process

In recent years, consumer information acquisition behavior has changed significantly. Previously, the decision-making process generally involved searching the web, comparing options, reading articles, and then making a choice. However, with the advent of generative AI, we are transitioning to an era where consumers ask AI questions, AI summarizes and recommends candidates, and choices are narrowed down from those recommendations. This is a shift to a structure where AI assists the comparison and consideration process.

According to a survey by CyberAgent GEO Lab (conducted in September 2025), the usage rate of ChatGPT among teenagers reached 42.9%, surpassing Yahoo! JAPAN, a major search engine, by more than 10 percentage points (31.7%). "Asking AI" is becoming the standard and is expected to accelerate further.

This means that companies that AI cannot understand may not even be considered as options by users. Many companies face challenges such as: "Our company name/service doesn't appear when asked on ChatGPT," "Only competitors are cited," "Mentioned in an incorrect, old, or weak context," or "Our strengths are not conveyed to AI."

## What is AEO (AI Engine Optimization)?

AEO is "optimization to make it easier for AI to reference, cite, and recommend" when AI generates responses. While SEO pursues "search rankings," AEO is an approach that enhances "presence within AI responses."

Whether a company is chosen by ChatGPT depends not on "technology" but on "the design of its explainability." ChatGPT does not "search" but chooses the "most plausible and easiest-to-explain company/concept" for its responses. Onono designs its consulting around three key points for being chosen by AI.

### Three Key Points for Being Chosen by AI:

- POINT 1: Does the company have a clear position that makes AI "easy to use as an explainer"?
- Design "what kind of expert this company is" and "can it be explained in one sentence" from AI's perspective. Eliminate problematic states such as abstract business descriptions or inconsistencies across pages, and build a role definition that is called upon for "specific questions × company name."
- POINT 2: Is the information structured in a way that AI can judge it "safe to cite"?
- Lack of FAQs, scattered explanations, inconsistent phrasing, or only long, unstructured texts. In such states, AI cannot safely cite information. We organize FAQs, definition statements, comparison statements, and design emphasis tags and structural elements.
- POINT 3: Is an "anticipated response route" designed for specific prompts?
- Unplanned anticipated questions, explanations only for humans, lack of cases/examples. To resolve these, we define specific prompt groups to target, prepare response materials corresponding to those questions in advance, and design "vocabulary, syntax, and context" that AI can easily pick up.

## Onono's View on the Essence of AEO

Onono's business core is to "correctly deliver good Japanese products/values overseas and good overseas products/values to Japan," importing and exporting not just "things" but "contexts." Different languages. Different cultures. Different business practices. Under these premises, what is truly important is information design that can be explained without misunderstanding, structurally, and by anyone.

AI is a universal translator and guide. Creating a state where AI correctly understands, does not misunderstand, and safely cites information is not just a technique; it is the foundation for information dissemination in the coming era.

AEO is a new digital etiquette for the future, but it is not "magic." AI references "structured information," "consistent messages," "reliability," and "reproducibility." It functions only with proper design and continuous observation.

## Introduction Flow (5 Steps)

- STEP 1 | Initial Interview & Current Situation Analysis
- After inquiring about requirements and challenges, we conduct a unique checklist, industry-specific prompt research, and...