SEO makes you the authority. AEO makes you the answer.
About 70% of the work overlaps. The other 30% is where AEO changes the job of your content, the places it has to live, and the way it is measured.
Written by Michael Landry, Founder and Head of AEO.
| SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of planning | Keywords | Phrases and personas, because every question fans out |
| Job of the content | Be the authority on the topic, the Wikipedia of it | Be the best answer for this person, and prove it: an argument with USPs, guarantees and comparisons |
| What carries the result | Written quality, speed, internal links, inbound links | The same foundation, plus corroboration everywhere the agent goes |
| Where it lives | Mostly your site and your backlinks | Your site plus social, forums, reviews, awards, press, video and imagery |
| How it is gamed | Caught by named updates, Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird | Weeded out continuously as engines learn what is valuable |
| Who has the edge | A lightweight who knows what they are doing can beat a heavyweight | Big companies cover more ground faster; smaller ones have to choose targets |
| Measured by | Rankings, clicks | Share of answer: named, cited, recommended, by engine, over time |
What stays the same
The ethos. If you do not provide the best answer, someone will go somewhere else for it. We watched it happen when ChatGPT started hallucinating and people tried other engines. It will keep happening, which is why the only durable tactics are the ones that serve the customer.