The AEO/GEO Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About

If you’re in marketing or advertising, you’ve probably heard someone throw around “AEO” or “GEO” in a meeting recently. Maybe your agency partner mentioned it, maybe you read it in an article — and if you’re like most people, you nodded along while quietly wondering what exactly they were actually talking about. Let’s try to put some details to that for you so that the next time it comes up, you’re ready to have a conversation about it.

What Are We Even Talking About?

First, the basics. AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. Still vague, right? The industry can’t even agree on what to call this thing. Some people say they’re different. Some say they’re the same. And some have thrown in AIO (AI Optimization) and GSO (Generative Search Optimization) just to make sure everyone’s thoroughly confused.

Here’s what each means: optimizing your content so that AI systems — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google’s AI Overviews — can find it, understand it, and cite it when they generate responses to user queries.

Traditional SEO was about ranking high in search results — getting your link in those top spots on Google (and Bing — though that’s a whole different article). AEO/GEO is about making sure your brand shows up inside the AI-generated answer itself. Not as a link at the bottom. Not as a “source” nobody clicks on. But woven into the actual response the AI gives, or as a recommendation when asked.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Let’s talk numbers. As of June 2025, AI searches on desktop through platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity accounted for 5.6% of all search traffic. That might not sound like much, but consider this: Google still controls around 90% of the search market, and even Google is leaning hard into AI search with AI Overviews and AI Mode. Nearly half of all Google searches now feature AI-generated overviews.

What does that mean for you? It means the web traffic you’ve been getting has been declining — I’m sure you’ve noticed. It’s declining for two main reasons: First, because people are finding what they want without going to your site, you get no visits. And second, you just might not be ranking where you think you are. Ranking high on Google does not often translate to ranking high for AI. Publishers are already seeing it. Brands are already feeling it. And if you’re still relying exclusively on traditional SEO tactics, you’re probably watching your returns diminish in real time.

Here’s the part that should really get your attention: The way people search is changing. They’re not just typing “best running shoes” anymore. They’re asking complex, multi-part questions: “What running shoes should I buy if I have flat feet, run on trails, and my budget is $150?” AI search engines are designed for this. Traditional search is not.

The Real Problem Nobody’s Addressing

Most of what you’re hearing about AEO/GEO right now is coming from vendors trying to sell you something. And because they’re trying to sell you something, sometimes they’re not being completely honest about the limitations.

Here’s what is often left out: This is not just SEO with a new name. The rules are different. The tactics are different. And in some fundamental ways, the game is harder to win.

With traditional SEO, you could see where you ranked. You could track your position. You could measure whether your efforts were working. With AEO/GEO? Not so fast… There’s no ranking position. You either get cited in the AI’s response or you don’t. You either show up or you’re invisible. And half the time, even when you do show up, there’s no link — just a mention of your brand in the middle of a paragraph.

The companies selling you AEO/GEO services are shouting “Look here, look here!” pointing at their solutions. What they’re not talking about is measurement. What they’re not addressing is attribution. What they’re not always disclosing is that we’re all still figuring this out.

What Actually Works (And What Doesn’t)

Let’s get practical. If you’re going to optimize for AI search, here’s what matters:

Authority actually matters now. AI models prioritize authoritative sources. They’re trained on content from trusted publishers, academic institutions, government sites. If your brand isn’t established as an authority in your space, you’re going to struggle. That means investing in genuinely good content, getting cited by reputable sources, and building (or relying on) real expertise — not just playing Google’s algorithmic game.

Structure is everything. AI systems parse content differently than search engines. They’re looking for clear entities, direct answers to questions, and scannable information. Your content needs descriptive headers phrased as questions. It needs lists and tables. It needs FAQ sections with schema markup. Not because it looks pretty, but because that’s how AI systems extract information.

You can’t just optimize for Google anymore. Google does not set the rules for AI; this has to be a much more trial-and-error-oriented learning process.

Content needs to be AI-readable, not just human-readable. This is subtle but important. When you write content, you need to think about how an AI will parse it. That means clear subject-predicate-object relationships. It means using consistent terminology. It means being explicit rather than clever. The creative flourishes that work for human readers? AI systems often miss them entirely. People are still going to your site, though, so this needs to be a balance.

The Questions You Should Be Asking

If someone’s pitching you on AEO or GEO services, here’s what you need to ask them:

How are you measuring success? Push them to be specific. This is an emerging technology, so these answers are evolving, but there should be answers for how they’re doing it now.

What platforms are you optimizing for? If the answer is just “Google,” you’re not getting the full picture. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini — these all pull from different sources and prioritize different signals.

How are you dealing with the citation problem? Most AI-generated responses either don’t include links or bury them where nobody clicks. So how are you actually driving traffic, not just brand awareness?

What’s your approach to the platforms you can’t directly optimize for? Because here’s the reality: You can’t directly influence what ChatGPT says about your brand. You can’t pay to get cited (yet). You have to focus on building genuine authority and be intentional about getting the AI systems to recognize it.

If they can’t answer these questions clearly, find someone else. It’s too late for “we’re working on it” to be an acceptable answer.

Where This Is All Heading

AI search is not going away. If anything, it’s going to accelerate. Gartner predicts a 25% drop in traditional search engine volume by 2026. That’s pretty much now. The way people find information is changing fundamentally, and you can either adapt or watch your visibility disappear.

Adapting is not simple and it’s not cheap. And it’s not something you can just bolt onto your existing SEO strategy and call it done. This requires rethinking how you create content, how you structure information, how you build authority, and how you buy media.

The good news? Most of your competitors are just as confused as you are. The bad news? The ones who figure this out first are going to have a significant advantage, and that advantage is likely to compound over time as AI search becomes more dominant.

What You Should Do Now

If you’re a brand marketer or business owner, here’s my advice:

Start with an audit. Search for your brand and your key products on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Claude, and Google’s AI Mode. What shows up? Are you being cited? Are your competitors mentioned instead? This gives you a baseline.

Evaluate your content strategy. Is your content genuinely authoritative? Does it directly answer questions your customers are asking? Is it structured in such a way as to allow AI systems to parse it? If not, that’s where you start.

Diversify your platform strategy. If you’re heavily dependent on Google, you need to expand. Work with your agency to build a multi-platform approach that takes advantage of different data signals across different ecosystems.

Set realistic expectations. This is not going to deliver immediate, measurable ROI the way traditional SEO can. You’re playing a longer game here. But if you wait until your competitors have already established authority in AI search, you’re going to be playing catch-up for years.

Push your vendors. Make your agency or your tech partners explain exactly what they’re doing about this. “We’re working on it” is not an answer. “We’re monitoring the situation” is not a strategy. You need specifics, you need timelines, and you need clear accountability.

The Bottom Line

The conversation about AEO and GEO is noisy right now. There’s a lot of hype, a lot of confusion. Underneath all that noise is a real shift in how people find information, and that shift has real consequences for your business.

You don’t need to panic. You don’t need to throw your entire marketing budget at the newest shiny thing. But you do need to understand what’s happening and start preparing for it. Because the brands that figure out AI search first are going to have an advantage that compounds over time. And the ones that wait? They’re going to spend years trying to catch up.

The wave is coming. You can either learn to surf it, or you can get rolled by it. Your call.

Some Closing Thoughts

Yes, I really do believe this is as important as I’m making it sound. The shift to AI search is going to be as significant as the shift to mobile was.

The terminology debate (AEO vs GEO vs AIO) is mostly a distraction. Focus on the underlying problem, not what people are calling it.

If you read this and have questions, or you want to push back on something I said, get in touch. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading.