FAQs

Combining the two allows you to capture visibility across the entire search journey. SEO builds long-term authority and brings users to your site for precise information, while AEO ensures you grab instant-answer users who might never click a link, thereby maximizing the brand's presence in the zero-click landscape.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the long-standing foundational practice that came first. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) emerged later, as search engines and voice assistants evolved to provide instant, summarized answers.

Structured data (schema markup) helps answer engines and AI models instantly understand the context of your content (e.g., this is an FAQ, this is a step-by-step guide). This clarity is crucial for the engine to select your content as the most accurate and concise answer.

No. While AEO for voice search is a significant component (as voice queries are usually questions seeking direct answers), AEO also optimizes for all instant-answer features, including Google's Featured Snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and AI-generated overviews.

AEO's core goal is zero-click visibility—to be the direct answer displayed in a snippet or read by a voice assistant. SEO's core goal is to achieve high rankings to drive clicks to your website and increase traffic.

Start with SEO. A strong, authoritative website is required before any AI system will trust your content. Once the SEO foundation is solid, prioritize AEO for quick answers and voice search, and then GEO to ensure visibility in complex, synthesized AI overviews.

To succeed with GEO, your content must demonstrate high E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). AI models prioritize content that is:

• Contextually Deep: Thoroughly covers a topic.
• Structured Clearly: Uses proper headings, lists, and schema markup.
• Factual and Credible: Provides verifiable data and strong sources.

The difference lies in the visibility goal: AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) aims to be the direct, quick answer shown in a small featured snippet or read aloud by a voice assistant. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) aims to be the trusted source that a Large Language Model (LLM) will cite, synthesize, or reference when generating a long, conversational AI summary.

No, SEO is not dead—it’s the foundation. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) remains the critical base. Without a strong, trustworthy website, your content won't be crawled or indexed. AEO and GEO are simply new ways of optimizing that foundational content for modern answers and AI consumption.

No. AEO complements SEO. It is a crucial layer that future-proofs your brand's authority in the evolving, AI-driven digital landscape.