| Gate | What counts as evidence |
|---|---|
| 1. Entered | Accepted the rules by the entry deadline (Round 1: 12 Oct 2026, 23:59 AWST). Claimants who have not entered are scored for reference, marked "not entered", and cannot hold the title. |
| 2. Educator | Has taught AEO, GEO or LLM optimisation live (workshop, course, conference talk or meetup) in the last 24 months, with a public event page, recording or organiser confirmation. |
| 3. Verifiable identity | A real, named person with a consistent public profile: own site plus one major profile. |
| 4. Original evidence | Has published at least one original test, dataset or case study of how AI engines answer. A press release does not count. |
What are the steps to enter?
Read the official rules, complete the entry form at kingofaeocompetition.com/enter/, and accept the rules before the deadline. After the deadline, the team checks all four eligibility gates using public sources.
Every gate decision cites a public URL. Eligible competitors are then scored in the round and appear on the official leaderboard.
What are the four eligibility gates?
The four gates are Entered, Educator, Verifiable identity and Original evidence, and you must pass all of them. Entered means you accepted the rules by the deadline.
Educator means you taught AEO, GEO or LLM optimisation live in the last 24 months. Verifiable identity means a real, named person with a consistent public profile. Original evidence means you published at least one original test, dataset or case study of how AI engines answer.
What evidence does each gate need?
Each gate needs public, checkable evidence, and every decision cites a public URL. For Educator, supply a public event page, recording or organiser confirmation of your session.
For Verifiable identity, your own site plus one major public profile. For Original evidence, a published study of AI answers: a press release does not count. The checklist below summarises what to prepare.
When is the entry deadline?
The Round 1 entry deadline is 12 October 2026 at 23:59 AWST. After Round 1, rounds run monthly.
Claimants who have not entered are listed and scored for reference, marked "not entered", and cannot hold the title.
Where is the entry form?
The entry form is on the official site at kingofaeocompetition.com/enter/. The rules sit at kingofaeocompetition.com/rules/ if you want to read them first.
Once results publish, your score and gate decisions appear on the official leaderboard.