SEO & AI Search
SEO vs. AEO: What's the Difference?
For twenty years, "getting found online" meant one thing: ranking on Google. Now a growing share of people ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews instead of typing a search query — and those tools decide what to mention using different rules. SEO and AEO are the two disciplines behind each one.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is the practice of making your website easy for search engines like Google to find, understand, and rank well for relevant searches. It covers things like page speed, mobile-friendliness, clear page titles, quality backlinks, and content that actually answers what someone typed into the search bar.
- Technical health — fast load times, mobile optimization, secure (HTTPS) hosting
- On-page basics — clear titles, headings, and descriptions for each page
- Local signals — an accurate Google Business Profile, consistent name/address/phone details
- Content and backlinks that establish your site as a trustworthy source
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimization is the newer discipline of making your business easy for AI assistants — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, Claude, and similar tools — to find, understand, and cite when someone asks a question in natural language. Instead of competing for a ranked list of blue links, you're competing to be the source an AI pulls from when it writes its answer.
- Structured data (schema markup) that clearly labels who you are, what you offer, and your reviews
- Content written in a clear, direct question-and-answer format AI tools can quote easily
- Consistent, accurate information about your business across the web — not just your own site
- Genuinely useful, specific answers, rather than vague marketing copy
SEO vs. AEO, side by side
| Category | SEO | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank high in search results | Get mentioned or quoted in an AI answer |
| Where it shows up | Google, Bing search results | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, voice assistants |
| What matters most | Keywords, backlinks, technical performance | Clear structure, direct answers, accurate structured data |
| Content style | Optimized for search terms | Written like a direct answer to a real question |
| Measured by | Rankings, clicks, organic traffic | Mentions, citations, referral traffic from AI tools |
They're not competing disciplines
AEO doesn't replace SEO — it builds on it. A site with weak technical SEO and no structured data is unlikely to be trusted by an AI assistant either. Most of what makes a site AI-friendly (fast, mobile, clearly organized, accurate) also makes it Google-friendly.
Why small businesses need both now
People increasingly ask AI tools questions they used to type into Google: "find me a dentist near me that takes my insurance" or "what's a fair price for a small business website." If an AI assistant can't find clear, structured, accurate information about your business, it simply won't mention you — no matter how good your Google ranking is. Optimizing for one channel and ignoring the other means leaving potential customers on the table.
Getting started with AEO
- Make sure your site uses structured data (schema markup) for your business, services, and reviews
- Write pages that answer specific questions directly, near the top — not buried under marketing copy
- Keep your business details (name, hours, services, service area) consistent everywhere they appear online
- Publish genuinely useful content — the kind an AI tool would actually want to quote
Our Website + SEO plan includes ongoing SEO and AEO optimization as one package — structured data, local SEO, and content built to perform in both traditional and AI-driven search, without you having to manage two separate specialists.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to build a website that works?
A professional website from $99 to start, no long-term contract.
Get StartedMore Resources
