AEO vs SEO: Key Differences Every Marketer Should Know

While SEO and AEO share some foundational principles, they differ significantly in execution and outcomes. Understanding these differences is crucial for developing an effective AI visibility strategy.

The Core Differences

Aspect	Traditional SEO	AEO
Goal	Rank on page 1 of Google	Be cited/recommended by AI
Success metric	Click-through rate	Mention & recommendation rate
Content format	Long-form, keyword-optimized	Clear, authoritative, structured
Technical focus	Page speed, meta tags, backlinks	Schema markup, llms.txt, structured data
Competition	10 positions on page 1	3-5 recommendations per query

SEO is Still Important

AEO doesn't replace SEO — it complements it. AI models learn from the web, so strong SEO fundamentals (quality content, authority, technical health) feed into your AEO performance. Think of AEO as an additional distribution channel that requires its own optimization layer.

When to Prioritize AEO

• Your competitors are already being recommended by AI and you're not
• Your target audience skews younger (Gen Z and millennials use AI search heavily)
• You're in a B2B space where buyers research with AI assistants
• Your category has high-intent queries that AI answers directly

The Best Strategy: Both

Companies that optimize for both Google and AI search will dominate. The question isn't whether to invest in AI search visibility — it's whether you want to be a leader or a follower in this shift.

Check your AI visibility now to see where you stand, or explore our free tools to start optimizing today.