The news: Digital experience platform Contentful launched an answer engine optimization (AEO) tool that helps brands understand what goes into forming AI answers and how they can better show up.

The offering, called Palmata, is meant to give brands insights into how AI systems develop perceptions of companies, which affects what information consumers get from AI engines and how reputations are formed in users’ minds.

• It’s powered by Sounder Discovery Agent, a proprietary AI system that “continuously observes, learns, and synthesizes” AI’s input signals.
• Palmata is available for free with basic features, and costs up to $600 per month for more advanced access.

“Most AI visibility tools tell you whether you appear in an answer, but they don’t tell you what to do next,” Jason McGhee, Palmata head of product at Contentful, said in a press release.

Palmata offers steering control over what data it focuses on—such as specific brands, competitors, or audience segments—as well as deep research into the factors that affect how brands are represented in AI answers. It also provides recommended actions for brands and simulated impact models.

The bigger picture: Unlike standard search and social results, genAI assistants pull from a broad range of online sources, including both owned and public channels, increasing the chances for the technology to amplify incorrect or negative information.

This means brands need to be present across multiple platforms and keep track of those identities plus any brand mentions across channels.

Sixty percent of US adults have used a generative engine to search for information, much higher than other use cases, such as coming up with ideas at 40% and work tasks at 37%, per an AP-NORC poll. That makes ensuring the accuracy of brand-related content even more important.

Recommendations for brands: Experiment with tools like Palmata to audit how various AI platforms portray brand identity, and identify gaps between those perceptions and intended messaging.

Although AI engines only account for 3.3% of online discovery time in the US, per Comscore data analyzed by EMARKETER, that number will only grow. As consumers turn more toward genAI for discovery and research, brands should regularly monitor AI-generated answers, strengthen their presence across trusted third-party sources, and prioritize accurate, consistent information across owned and earned channels.

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