{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/how-ai-search-pulls-answers\/#blogposting","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/how-ai-search-pulls-answers\/"},"headline":"How AI Search Engines Generate Answers (And Choose Sources)","alternativeHeadline":"How AI Search Pulls Answers (In Plain English) - Query Fan-Out, Citations, and What to Optimize","description":"A plain-English explanation of how AI search engines generate answers, expand queries through fan-out, retrieve and synthesize sources, and choose citations\u2014plus what to optimize for GEO.","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/how-ai-search-pulls-answers\/","datePublished":"2026-03-12","dateModified":"2026-03-12","inLanguage":"en-US","isAccessibleForFree":true,"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dave Burnett","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/author\/dave-burnett\/"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AOK Marketing","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/aokmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/aok-logo-header.svg"}},"articleSection":["AI Search","Generative Engine Optimization","GEO","Content Strategy"],"keywords":["AI search","generative engine optimization","GEO","query fan-out","AI citations","retrieval","extractability","citation confidence","AI search optimization"],"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Generative Engine Optimization"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"AI Search"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Query Fan-Out"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Citations in AI Search"}],"mentions":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Google Search Central"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Google AI Overviews"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Bing Copilot Search"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Perplexity"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Search Engine Land"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"KDD 2024"}]}