AEO vs SEO: Do You Have to Pick?

You have been doing some SEO. You have a Google Business Profile and a few blog posts. Then someone says "AEO" and a question forms: do I have to start over?

No. AEO stands for answer engine optimization. It means getting your business named when an AI tool answers a customer's question. The SEO work you have done is the base it stands on.

What changed in search?

Customers now get answers along with links. When someone asks Google a question, an AI summary may sit above the links and name the pages it used. More people also ask ChatGPT or Perplexity directly and get a short list of businesses back.

This moved fast. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 45 percent of US consumers now use AI tools to find local business recommendations, up from 6 percent in 2025.

So search has two layers. Ranking in Google is the first, and SEO covers it. Being named in the AI answer is the second, and that is what AEO adds.

A caveat first: Google and the AI companies keep the details of how their answers pick sources private. The listing advice below comes from the SOCi study. The points on SEO, schema, mentions, and llms.txt come from Google's own guide. The rest is our own practice, and it also helps a human reader.

Does my SEO work still count?

Yes. Google says so itself: "The best practices for SEO continue to be relevant because our generative AI features on Google Search are rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems." These carry straight over.

• •Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current: hours, address, phone number, and photos. Google's guide says Business Profiles "can help your products and services to be visible in both AI responses and other Google Search results." SOCi's 2026 Local Visibility Index rated the accuracy of business details on ChatGPT and Perplexity at only 68 percent. Gemini, which takes its details straight from Google Maps, scored 100 percent. SOCi's advice is to make your details match on Apple Maps, Yelp, Bing, and Facebook too.
• •Keep collecting reviews.
• •Keep your site easy for search engines to read. If Google's robot cannot read your pages, your answers cannot show up in search or in an AI summary.
• •Keep your keyword research. Your keyword list tells you which questions to answer.
• •Keep or add schema, a small piece of code that tells search engines what your business does and where it is. Google's guide says its AI answers need no special schema, so treat it as good housekeeping for search. Our free check tells you if it finds no schema code on the page you enter (the result calls it a search data tag). It does not tell you which kind you have, so ask your site builder for LocalBusiness schema, the kind made for local businesses.

What changes in how I write?

Put the answer in the first sentence of each section. Many SEO posts save the answer for later in the page. A clear first sentence is easy for a person or a machine to quote. For example, a plumber's page about night calls could open with: "Yes, we come out at night. Call this number." Google's guide says you do not need to write a special way for AI. This is simply clear writing, and it helps your customers first.

What should I add?

Add two things: a question-and-answer section and one new mention on a site your customers trust.

A question-and-answer section on your key pages

List the five questions customers ask most before they hire you. Write each one as a heading and answer it in two to four plain sentences. Put this on your services page, your homepage, or your most-read post. It takes one afternoon.

Mentions on sites your customers trust

Look for one new, accurate mention, such as a local news story, your chamber of commerce, or a partner's website. Google's guide warns that "seeking inauthentic 'mentions' across the web isn't as helpful as it might seem," so keep them real. Before you start, check that your business name, address, and phone number match your Google profile exactly in the places that already list you.

What can I skip for now?

• •Adding an llms.txt file. Some articles suggest one for AI tools. Google's own guide says Google Search, including its AI answers, does not use these files.
• •Checking AI answers every day. Once a month, ask ChatGPT and Perplexity about your business and read how you are described.

This week: write your business facts as sentences

Open your homepage and your contact page. Add one short paragraph that says, in plain sentences, where you work, your hours, your license number if you have one, and how long you have been in business. It takes about 20 minutes, and it gives both Google and AI tools a clear answer to quote.

One set of moves, two layers

Ranking in Google and getting named in the answer come from the same work: clear pages that answer real questions, with facts that match everywhere. Online, clear beats good every time.

Run a home service business? Read how home service businesses get found in AI search.