Answer-first block
Definition
An answer-first block is a passage that states its direct answer in the opening sentence or two, before context or qualification, so an AI system can lift it whole as a self-contained quote. It is the page-level structure answer engines reward most consistently.
Engines cite passages, not pages. A section that opens with the answer gives the engine a quotable unit that survives being extracted: the claim, the subject, and the key fact all inside one passage, with no pronoun pointing at a paragraph the engine did not take.
The pattern is teachable and checkable: lead with the answer, name the brand or entity inside the passage rather than relying on the heading above it, and keep each block about one question. CiteHawk’s GEO audit grades exactly this structure on every audited page, so you can see which of your pages already read as citable answers and which bury them.
