Instead of retrieving the "Top 10" websites using a search engine, Perplexity now retrieves about 26,000 granular snippets (fragments of 2–4 words/tokens) from across the web to fill the AI’s "context window." By saturating this window with facts, the AI has no room to hallucinate, resulting in a more accurate, synthesized answer.
This means the AI doesn't just "see" your article; it extracts thousands of tiny numerical representations of your facts.
To be eligible, your content needs to be highly modular and factual. If a single paragraph contains three distinct, valuable facts, it has a higher chance of being "plucked" into that 130,000-token context window than a long, rambling narrative.
Why is this change happening?
The goal of this is to fill the AI’s memory (context window) with relevant snippets. When the window is "full" of data, the AI stops being "creative" and starts being a "distiller." To be the source the AI chooses, your data must be highly relevant and dense. The AI isn't looking for the "best page"; it’s looking for the "best 26,000 fragments" to solve a puzzle.
The End of the "Zero-Sum" Game
In traditional SEO, there is one #1 spot. In AEO, two people asking the same question will get different answers because the AI incorporates personal memory (the user’s previous interests, location, and history) into the context window.
How you structure your content must change
You can't just "rank for a keyword" anymore. Visibility is now even more context-dependent. Your brand needs to be present in the specific niche or "neighborhood" of information that your target user frequently interacts with. If you're selling running shoes, blogs of independent runners are a good platform to take advantage of.
This means that your content must be highly modular and factual; you need to bring something to the table. This will discard any AI summaries of already known information. Your company needs to bring something new to the table. Show expertise and experience through factual data and smaller, more knowledgeable pieces.
PageRank Still Matters for "Eligibility"
While the answer is generated from snippets, Perplexity still uses a form of PageRank (link-based authority) to decide which documents are even "eligible" to be broken down into snippets. Classic SEO (backlinks and authority) is the "barrier to entry." Once you're through the door, "Sub-Document Optimization" (clarity and fact-density) determines if you actually get cited in the final answer.
If you want to "win" in this new environment, stop writing for "keywords" and start writing for "extractable facts." Use clear, concise language that an AI can easily tokenize and fit into its limited context window.
