The history of search offers clues about where we’re headed in the AI era – but there’s more to learn and more to do to move forward with practical steps.
AI changes the way people search. Instead of short queries that once required digging through blended results, users can now ask complex questions and get direct answers.
Much of the work to optimize for AI, though, overlaps with what SEO professionals have been doing for years. Our community is already adapting and well-positioned to take on this shift.
This article outlines practical steps to navigate the evolving landscape.
SEO, AEO, GEO: Defining the new terms
Before diving in, it’s worth addressing the terminology. It’s still new, and no single label has fully crystallized for this AI layer on top of SEO.
Two terms have gained traction:
AEO (answer engine optimization), which focuses on optimizing content so it’s chosen as the answer in AI-driven results like Google’s AI Overviews.
GEO (generative engine optimization), which describes a broader approach across generative AI platforms.
Neither feels perfect. AEO is a bit clunky, and GEO risks confusion with geography and local search.
Still, these are the terms currently in use. For simplicity, I’ll use GEO in this article.
Dig deeper: The origins of SEO and what they mean for GEO and AIO
How GEO extends SEO
While tools like ChatGPT are undoubtedly cool – and early adopters, myself included, are spending a lot of time tinkering – the broader story is different.
For most people, AI will matter less as a standalone tool and more through its integration into phones, web browsers, and search engines.
GEO is a new layer that sits above SEO.
Often, tools like ChatGPT will search and compile information.
These tools provide a layer of abstraction and do much of the grunt work.
They still scan the digital world and then collate that information to simplify things for the user, while search engines like Google continue to provide the best overall digital map of the world.
If traditional SEO was about matching keywords, AEO is about being the best answer – and the easiest to integrate into an AI response.
GEO: Strategic foundations
There’s no firm consensus on GEO tactics, but most of what’s recommended is simply good SEO.
That said, tactics that lost ground in the zero-click landscape may regain utility in AI Mode, where the AI does the deep dive and collates information for users.
Here are some basic strategic foundations to put in place to set yourself up for visibility in AI tools.
1. Focus on your customers
I’ve long championed bringing traditional marketing thinking into SEO, and GEO is the natural evolution of that approach.
Know your audience. Create personas, gather feedback, and define their goals, pain points, and the jobs they rely on your product or service to support.
Customer insight is key to building a customer-first strategy that helps you stand out in the age of AI.
2. Real expertise wins
The web is full of derivative content that does little to stand out. This creates a problem for AI.
Model collapse happens when AI keeps training on AI-generated content without new signals, leading to increasingly stale and inaccurate results.
The solution is what humans are still best at – fresh insights from:
Interviews.
Original research.
Proprietary data
These provide AI with something new – and worth citing.
That’s an opportunity. Have a voice, and bring something original to the table.
Frameworks like the Value Proposition Framework and SCAMPER can also support your SEO content marketing process here.
3. Branding is key
Homepage traffic is up as a result of mentions in AI tools.
Recent studies show engagement from AI-driven traffic may even surpass organic, long the gold standard for user engagement.
Make sure your branding is strong.
Create unique names for your products and services so they’re easy to reference in AI tools and simple for users to search.
Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.
4. Your website is important
Your website remains critical in the age of AI.
Anything you publish will likely drive brand searches and send people to your site.
Structure it so visitors landing on your homepage can quickly explore and find more detail.
Dive into your customers’ wants, needs, and pain points – and answer the questions that matter most to them.
The ALCHEMY website planning framework can help guide this work.
5. Conversational content works
Think beyond static blog posts. Consider:
FAQs that are detailed and rooted in customer insight.
Step-by-step explainers.
Long-form guides that anticipate follow-up questions.
Structure your content to cover all your customers’ questions and concerns.
Remember, many will turn to AI to learn more about you.
6. Beyond Google
Gen Z already uses TikTok and Instagram as search engines.
YouTube remains the second-biggest search platform globally.
AI-powered tools are simply the next step in the ongoing fragmentation of upper-funnel discovery.
Your approach should be to diversify your content so it surfaces wherever people look:
Your own website.
Third-party sites and industry publications.
Social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Search engines such as Google and Perplexity.
Video and professional platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn.
Think of modern AI SEO as search everywhere optimization.
Dig deeper: What’s next for SEO in the generative AI era
What to do next: Practical steps for marketers
AI is helping people research and make purchase decisions. Your role is to be part of the discussion.
Modern SEOs are in good shape – much of what AI requires builds on the strategic SEO work we already do.
Add in some PR, social media, and content creation (which often sit under the SEO umbrella), and you’re well on your way to a functional GEO strategy.
Getting started is crucial. To stay ahead:
Create content worth quoting: Write the piece an AI (or a human journalist) would want to reference. That means clear answers, evidence, original insights, and a point of view – not filler.
Anticipate the full conversation: Don’t just answer the first question – answer the follow-ups, too. If someone asks, “How does AI change SEO?” they’ll also want to know, “What should I do about it?” Build that into your content.
Structure for machines and humans: Use headings, lists, FAQs, and concise summaries to help AI parse your work. But don’t forget the narrative depth that keeps people reading.
Diversify your discovery footprint: Don’t rely on Google alone. Research your audience, understand their hangouts, and publish in the formats and places where they ask questions today: LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts,and industry forums. AI tools crawl all of it.
Focus on authority signals: Show the human behind the content. Add author bios, cite sources, and link to your work elsewhere. AI engines, like search engines before them, lean on trust and authority.
Experiment, measure, refine: Try different formats, test and measure how your content shows up in AI summaries, track brand mentions, and adapt. SEO has always been iterative – this new era is no different.
The opportunity in the chaos
As SEO evolves into GEO – or whatever it may end up being called – this really is the best approach.
There’s no doubt a lot of change is happening.
But much of it is part of the same gradual evolution we’ve seen before, where clicks declined and Google started answering questions directly.
AI now makes it even easier for customers to find the information they’re looking for.
They may not read it on your site – at least not initially – but the AI will, and that’s the point.
Another strength we have as SEOs is that change is constant.
If you’ve been in SEO for any length of time, you’ve lived through Panda, Penguin, Mobilegeddon, BERT, helpful content updates – the list is long (and may cause PTSD for many of us).
The key is to treat this as the next evolution. AI is being integrated into search, and it will likely become the way the masses adopt the technology.
Don’t see this as the death of SEO.
Instead, view SEO and AI (or GEO/AEO, etc.) as close, contributing partners, and evolve your plan to match the changing landscape.
Your job as a marketer is to feed these tools the information they need to point customers to you and your clients.
This shift will likely mean fewer short-term manipulations and tactical opportunities – but better results for businesses that do the basics well.
At its core, good SEO/GEO is just good marketing: understanding your customers, meeting their needs, and communicating clearly.
Amid the chaos lies opportunity. For those willing to embrace the challenge, experiment with new tools, and keep going.
That’s what we’ve always done as SEOs, which is why we’re best positioned to embrace this new world.
Dig deeper: SEO at a crossroads: 9 experts on how AI is changing everything
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