What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is about ranking your website on a results page so users click through to your site. The goal is visibility.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is about optimizing your content so AI models (like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Claude) can read, understand, and cite it as the primary answer to a user's question. The goal is authority.
Is AI Search just optimizing for ChatGPT?
No. While ChatGPT is a major player, the biggest immediate impact for most businesses is Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE). Google now pushes AI-generated summaries to the top of search results for millions of queries. If you aren't optimized for AI, you are being pushed down the page—below the fold.
Will AI Search kill my website traffic?
No. While ChatGPT is a major player, the biggest immediate impact for most businesses is Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE). Google now pushes AI-generated summaries to the top of search results for millions of queries. If you aren't optimized for AI, you are being pushed down the page—below the fold.
How do you "optimize" for an AI robot?
We treat your brand as an Entity in the Knowledge Graph. AI models don't just look for keywords; they look for relationships between facts. We use advanced Schema Markup (structured code) and authoritative content structures to clearly tell the AI: "This is Brand X, they are experts in Y, and here is the verified answer to question Z."
Can you guarantee my brand will be the answer in ChatGPT?
No agency can guarantee specific placements in LLMs (Large Language Models) because they are non-deterministic—meaning they generate fresh answers every time. However, we can significantly increase the probability of your brand being cited by establishing high E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) signals that these models are trained to prioritize.
How do we measure success in AEO?
Traditional "rankings" matter less here. We look at different metrics:
Share of Model (SoM): How often your brand is mentioned in AI responses for your core keywords.
New Merchant/Entity Visibility: Presence in Google’s Knowledge Panels.
Referral Traffic from AI Sources: Clicks from Bing Chat, Perplexity, etc.
What happens if I ignore AI Search?
You risk becoming invisible. As search engines prioritize AI summaries, traditional organic listings are being pushed further down. If you ignore AEO, you leave the door open for competitors to become the "verified source" for your industry, potentially allowing AI to serve users incorrect or outdated information about your brand (hallucinations).
Is this relevant for B2B or just B2C?
It is critical for B2B. B2B buyers use search to research complex problems ("What is the best CRM for enterprise logistics?"). AI models are excellent at summarizing these complex comparisons. If your B2B brand isn't part of the conversation the AI is having with the prospect, you aren't on the shortlist.
How long does it take to see results?
AEO is a long-term play, similar to SEO. However, technical implementations like Schema Markup can be picked up by Google relatively quickly (weeks to months). Building the "brand authority" required to be cited by LLMs like GPT-4 is a longer, compounding process.
