AEO vs SEO - l'Answer Engine Optimization è davvero diversa o solo parole di marketing?

Fair skepticism. Let me give you a straight answer.

Is AEO real? Yes, but with caveats.

The underlying principles overlap with good SEO. But the application is genuinely different.

Here’s what’s actually different:

The uncomfortable truth:

You can rank #1 in Google and still be invisible in ChatGPT responses. And vice versa.

Real example from my client work:

• Client ranked #1 for “best project management software”
• Never mentioned by ChatGPT or Perplexity for that query
• Competitor ranked #5 but mentioned first in AI responses

Same market, completely different results in different channels.

Is it buzzwordy? A little. Is it describing something real? Absolutely.

12 years in SEO here. Your skepticism is warranted, but I’ve changed my mind on this.

My journey:

2023: “AEO is just SEO, ignore the hype” 2024: “Okay, something is different here” 2025: “This is a distinct channel requiring distinct tactics”

What changed my mind:

We had a client lose 40% of organic traffic over 18 months. Rankings stayed stable. The issue? AI Overviews were answering queries users used to click through for.

Their content ranked #1. But users got the answer from AI and never clicked.

The realization:

SEO gets you ranked. AEO gets you cited. If you’re not cited in the AI answer, users may never see your brand even if you “rank” technically.

What I tell clients now:

AEO isn’t a replacement for SEO. It’s an additional optimization layer for a new channel. Just like you optimize differently for Google vs YouTube vs LinkedIn - you optimize differently for traditional search vs AI answers.

The lazy rebranding concern:

You’re right that some agencies are just repackaging SEO. The tell: if they can’t explain what they’re doing differently, they’re probably not doing anything different.

Let me give you the practical breakdown of what’s actually different.

SEO tactics that don’t transfer to AEO:

• Keyword density optimization (AI doesn’t care about exact keyword matches)
• Internal linking for PageRank (AI doesn’t follow your internal links)
• Meta descriptions (AI doesn’t read meta tags)
• Long-tail keyword targeting (AI understands semantic meaning)

AEO-specific tactics:

• Answer-first content structure - First 40-60 words need to directly answer the query
• Extractable formatting - Tables, lists, definitions that AI can easily pull
• Entity optimization - Schema markup, consistent brand naming, Wikipedia presence
• Third-party mentions - AI trusts brands that other sources mention
• Cross-platform consistency - Same brand info across all platforms AI crawls

Tactics that work for both:

• Quality content
• Topical authority
• Comprehensive coverage
• E-E-A-T signals
• Technical site performance

The bottom line:

About 60% of good SEO practice also helps AEO. The other 40% is AEO-specific. It’s not just rebranding - there are genuine differences in approach.

I was skeptical too until I looked at the data.

What our analytics showed:

We tracked 500 queries across multiple clients over 6 months.

Correlation between SEO ranking and AI citation:

• Position 1 in Google = cited by AI: 45%
• Position 2-3 in Google = cited by AI: 32%
• Position 4-10 in Google = cited by AI: 28%
• Not ranked in top 10 = cited by AI: 18%

The insight:

SEO ranking helps, but it’s not determinative. You can rank well and not be cited. You can rank poorly and be cited.

What predicted AI citation better than SEO ranking:

1. Content structure score (extractability)
2. Third-party mention count
3. Freshness of content
4. Entity clarity signals

My conclusion:

AEO isn’t fake, but it’s also not entirely separate from SEO. They’re overlapping skillsets with distinct tactics. Like how content marketing and PR overlap but aren’t identical.

Skeptical marketer to skeptical marketer:

I was where you are 6 months ago. Here’s what convinced me AEO matters:

The experiment:

I asked our team to query ChatGPT and Perplexity for 50 prompts relevant to our product category. Then I asked them to do Google searches for similar keywords.

Results:

• Google: We ranked top 5 for 35/50 keywords
• ChatGPT: We were mentioned in 8/50 responses
• Perplexity: We were mentioned in 12/50 responses

We had great SEO. We had almost no AI visibility.

The wake-up call:

Our target buyers are increasingly using AI for research. If we’re invisible in AI, we’re missing a growing channel.

What we did:

1. Started tracking AI visibility with Am I Cited
2. Restructured top 20 content pieces for extractability
3. Invested in getting mentioned by industry publications
4. Added schema markup and improved entity signals

Results after 4 months:

• ChatGPT mentions: 8 → 26
• Perplexity mentions: 12 → 31
• Started seeing “found you on ChatGPT” in customer surveys

My take:

AEO is real. It requires different tactics. You need to do both.

I’ll give you the agency perspective.

The honest answer about AEO services:

• 30% of agencies selling AEO are just doing SEO with new labels
• 30% understand AEO but overcharge for simple optimizations
• 40% are doing genuinely different work

How to tell the difference:

Ask them: “What will you do differently for AEO vs SEO?”

Red flags:

• “We’ll optimize for AI keywords” (not a thing)
• “We’ll build AI backlinks” (not how it works)
• Can’t explain specific tactics

Green flags:

• Talk about content structure for extraction
• Discuss entity optimization
• Mention cross-platform monitoring
• Have case studies showing AI citation improvements

What good AEO work looks like:

1. Audit current AI visibility (tool like Am I Cited)
2. Identify gap between SEO rankings and AI citations
3. Restructure content for extractability
4. Build third-party coverage
5. Implement schema and entity signals
6. Track and iterate

If they can’t describe this process, they’re probably just selling SEO.

Different perspective: I don’t care what we call it. I care about results.

What I’ve learned:

Users are splitting between traditional search and AI. My job is to be visible wherever they look.

The practical approach:

I don’t think about “AEO vs SEO.” I think about:

• Are we visible in Google? (traditional SEO)
• Are we visible in ChatGPT/Perplexity? (AI visibility)
• Are users finding us when they search? (the actual goal)

What I’ve added to our playbook:

1. Monitor AI citations (we use Am I Cited)
2. Structure new content for extraction
3. Include more comparison tables and lists
4. Get more third-party coverage
5. Track referrals from AI platforms

Call it AEO, call it “AI visibility optimization,” call it whatever. It’s work that’s producing results.

The buzzword concern:

Don’t let the terminology distract from the substance. AI is a growing discovery channel. You need tactics to be visible there. Whether you call those tactics AEO doesn’t really matter.

I’ll give you the founder perspective.

Why I invested in AEO:

My board asked me why we weren’t showing up when they asked ChatGPT about our product category. Embarrassing conversation.

The reality:

Our customers are using AI for research. Industry analysts are using AI. Journalists are using AI. If we’re not visible there, we’re missing opportunities.

What convinced me this was different from SEO:

Our SEO agency said they were handling it. They weren’t. They were doing SEO.

When we finally hired someone who understood AEO specifically:

• They audited our AI visibility (we were invisible)
• They restructured our content differently
• They focused on signals our SEO agency ignored
• Results showed up in 3 months

My advice:

Don’t get hung up on terminology. Ask: “Am I visible in AI answers?” If not, you need to do something different. That “different” is what people are calling AEO.

I posted a similar skeptical thread 8 months ago. Here’s my update:

Then: “AEO is just SEO hype” Now: “AEO is SEO’s complement for a new channel”

What changed:

1. Tracked AI visibility for 6 months - saw real patterns
2. Tested AEO-specific optimizations - saw real results
3. Noticed traffic from AI referrals growing
4. Heard customers mention AI sources

The analogy that helped me:

When mobile-first became a thing, we didn’t stop doing “desktop SEO.” We added mobile-specific optimizations.

AEO is similar - you’re not replacing SEO. You’re adding optimizations for a new channel (AI answers) with different requirements.

The test I’d recommend:

1. Query 20 prompts about your product/category in ChatGPT and Perplexity
2. Note how often you’re mentioned vs competitors
3. If there’s a gap between your SEO rankings and AI visibility, that’s the AEO opportunity

Don’t take my word for it. Run the experiment.

Alright, I’m convinced. Not 100%, but enough to take action.

What changed my mind:

1. The data showing SEO ranking ≠ AI citation
2. The practical examples of what’s different
3. The acknowledgment that some “AEO” is repackaged BS, but real differences exist
4. The suggestion to just test it myself

What I’m going to do:

1. Run the 20-prompt experiment to see our current AI visibility
2. Compare to competitors and to our SEO rankings
3. If there’s a gap, invest in AEO-specific optimizations
4. Track results over 3-6 months

My refined take:

AEO is real, but it’s not a replacement for SEO. It’s an additional optimization layer for AI channels. The buzzword-iness is annoying, but there’s substance underneath.

Note to other skeptics:

Don’t just accept or reject based on terminology. Run the experiment. See if you’re visible in AI. That’s the only thing that matters.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, everyone.