In the past two weeks I’ve had no fewer than three women send me DM’s and asking me what magic I’m doing behind the scenes because they put a question into AI (Chat GPT and Claude, but the same is true for Gemini, Perplexity and other AI models), and somehow my Instagram reels showed up to answer their question.
Clicking on the video linked in the answer led them to check out the video in question, which led them to check out a few others on my feed since it was an Instagram linked Reel they were served. They obviously liked what they saw because not only did I get follows out it, I also had all three purchase one of my digital courses after asking me a question or two.
If you’re curious how it works, put this into Google: “How do you get text from a book straight into your phone without typing it out?” Then tap on VIDEOS or SHORT VIDEOS in the menu that shows up at the top like this:
My Instagram reel is already ranking and it’s only two weeks old. Why?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the new buzzword you’re going to hear a lot more about as we continue to go down this avenue of utilizing AI tools in our workflows. It doesn’t matter what industry that you’re in or what you sell.
You are probably already familiar with SEO (search engine optimization), which was the old game of how you can get your website ranked for the search engines. AEO is the new version of that game except that it’s not limited content you’re only publishing on your websites.
Whenever you publish something online, it’s given a URL - even an Instagram post. In mid 2024, Meta introduced a manual opt-in toggle in the settings so that any content could be indexed by search engines. In July of 2025, Meta announced that all public accounts would have this turned on by default.
This means that every Reel you’ve posted since July 10, 2025 has been sitting there quietly searchable whether you knew it or not!
Here’s one way you can start leveraging AEO in your marketing starting today.
We know that AI tools and search engines like Google and Bing are pulling relevant videos into their responses. That’s where the internet is now. What this means for you is that the words you choose for your caption are doing so much more than you thought.
A caption isn’t just a caption anymore. They are the very text that AI and search engine bots are scanning to decide whether your video answers someone’s question.
How can you capitalize on this? The fastest and easiest thing you can do with your very next post is this:
ALWAYS open your caption with a question that someone might be putting into Google or AI to find your content.
Here’s a post from my client Heidi Billotto who is the executive producer of North Carolina’s Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Chef’s Showdown competition.
This is a post I saw:
The caption is:
THIS is what the NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale looks like.
A packed house, incredible food, and the best chefs and mixologists in North Carolina going head to head for the top titles!
The only thing missing is you.
We are celebrating 10 years of the NCRLA Chef Showdown on September 2 at Bay 7 in Durham, NC. Tickets are going fast.
Don’t sleep on this. Get Your Tickets today at ncchefshowdown.com
Here’s how it could be improved:
What can you expect at the NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale?
The NCRLA Chef Showdown is North Carolina’s largest statewide culinary and mixology competition, bringing together chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists and distilleries from across the state.
At the Grand Finale, guests get to taste bite-sized versions of the finalists’ dishes and desserts, sample competition cocktails and spirit-free drinks, and vote for their favorites.
This year, 15 chefs, 5 pastry chefs and 6 mixology teams will compete for North Carolina’s top culinary and mixology titles.
The 2026 NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale takes place September 2 at Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, North Carolina.
Tickets are available at our link in bio!
The goal isn’t:
“Put a question in the first line because questions are good for AEO.”
It’s:
“Think about the question someone might ask about the thing you’re posting about, then use your caption to give them the answer.”
What I did to improve this caption for search is this:
A real question at the top. “What can you expect at the NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale?” gives the caption a clear question to answer.
A definition of the event. Instead of assuming people know what Chef Showdown is, I explain that it’s a statewide culinary and mixology competition.
More named details. Chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, distilleries, dishes, cocktails. These words give search and AI systems more context about what the event actually involves. This drives traffic to the small farms and small producers who also benefit from this event.
I added specific numbers. 15 chefs, 5 pastry chefs, 6 mixology teams. Specifics make the content more useful and easier to understand.
Clear location information. Not just “Bay 7 in Durham,” but “Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, North Carolina.”
The answer before the promotion. The original caption gets to “buy tickets” quickly. The new one gives useful information first, then asks for the sale.
(As an aside - I did ask Chat GPT to tell explain how I improved this caption. I like to be transparent about how I use AI in my business!)
The basic method is this:
Open your caption with a question but not just any question. Make sure it’s a question someone might reasonably type into Google or ask AI. Resist using a clever hook. Type out the actual question, in the actual words a real person would use.
“How do you get text from a book straight into your phone without typing it out?” isn’t a catchy line. It’s a search query and it’s also the reason three strangers found me this month without me spending a dime on ads.
You can leverage this too. I’ve actually put my entire process of how I use AI to help me do this in the Hook and Caption Kit - a list of personally curated prompts I’ve created to learn how to use AI to create posts that get pushed, not buried, when you hit publish.
This is one of the prompts in the kit. Try it on your last, or next post!
Prompt:
Based on this caption and knowing that search engines are ranking my short videos and content, please give me 5 options for a keyword-rich, optimized first line I could use ideally in the form of a question my audience might search for.
{Paste your finalized caption here}
The content in my post is (add details of what the reel, post or caption contain).
The other prompts in the kit do things like:
How to Develop a Strong Hook
How to Test Your Hook
How to Create a Killer Caption
How to Create a Search Engine Friendly First Line
How to Test Your Opening on a Real Human
How to Rewrite the Opening of Your Caption to Stop the Scroll
BONUS mini masterclass: How to Download Your Insights From Meta and Get Actionable Guidance
It’s only $17 and it’s the exact thing the ladies who DM’d me in the past couple of weeks purchased!
AEO is a topic that isn’t going away. Taking a few minutes to improve your captions will help your social media efforts with greater rewards. You’re already creating and publishing content. Why not let it do more of the heavy lifting?
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Ooh, this is so helpful! I am definitely going to try this with my IG and FB posts!
You are always the leader in tech Krista! Thanks for sharing. I always learn so much.😊