← newsroom
BenchmarkPublished 2026-07-01
Benchmark: question-based H2s lift AI citations by 34%
Our July study of 500 pages shows H2/H3s phrased as questions get quoted verbatim by ChatGPT and Perplexity far more often than statement headings.
By Mark Barclay · Source: Internet Monkeez research
Across 500 randomly sampled pages, pages that phrased at least 60% of subheadings as questions received 34% more AI-engine citations than statement-heading pages with equivalent word count and domain authority.
The effect was strongest for definitional and how-to prompts. Question headings paired with a self-contained answer paragraph in the next 40–60 words outperformed all other on-page patterns we tested.
What to do about it
Convert your H2s to questions and put a 40–60 word answer immediately underneath. It's the single highest-leverage on-page change for AEO right now.
AEOHeadingsBenchmark