AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization—the practice of optimizing your content so AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews will cite your brand in their responses.
There's a new three-letter acronym making the rounds at marketing conferences.
AEO. Answer Engine Optimization. It sounds important. It sounds like the future.
Agencies are selling it. Tool vendors are building dashboards for it. HubSpot has a free "AEO Grader."
The emperor has new clothes. And they look suspiciously like the old ones.
The Pitch
What AEO "Tactics" Actually Are
We read through the guides. We looked at what agencies promise. Here's the "new" methodology:
| AEO "Innovation" | What It Actually Is |
|---|---|
| "Write clear headings that match queries" | SEO since 2005 |
| "Put your answer in the first 40-60 words" | SEO since featured snippets (2014) |
| "Use bullet points and tables" | SEO since forever |
| "Build brand authority" | SEO since PageRank (1998) |
| "Use structured data / schema" | SEO since Schema.org (2011) |
| "Get reviews on third-party sites" | Local SEO since always |
Even the proponents admit it. From one AEO guide: "SEO and AEO are complementary... they share tactics — clear structure, answer-first sections, structured data."
Improvements to one lift the other. Because they're the same thing.
The Naming Chaos
It gets better. There's also GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AIO, and GSO.
Per Digiday: "There is no common taxonomy. Agencies have adopted a bunch of different acronyms to describe the same trend."
The Pricing Racket
Here's what agencies are charging for this "new" service:
Monthly Retainers
- Small business:$1,500 - $3,000
- Mid-market:$5,000 - $10,000
- Enterprise:$15,000 - $50,000
One-Time Fees
- "AEO Audit":$2,500 - $5,000
- Hourly consulting:$150 - $500/hr
- "Prompt library":$2,000 - $5,000
Hidden Fees
The math is revealing. A mid-market agency charges ~$102,000/year plus $24,000 in hidden fees. A self-service platform doing the same thing? $9,588/year.
Same deliverables. New invoice line.
The Measurement Problem
You can't measure it.
Unlike SEO, which has Google Search Console, there's no authoritative way to track AEO performance. The tools that exist? They invented new metrics.
The New Vanity Metrics
What do these actually mean? Good question. There's no industry standard.
And here's the kicker: LLMs are probabilistic, not deterministic.
Different users asking the same question get different answers. Different sources. Sometimes no sources at all.
Your brand might be cited today. Tomorrow? Gone. No control.
The Traffic Paradox
This is the part that should make you laugh. Or cry.
"We're told to solve the problem of falling traffic by giving AI better content — which will, in turn, make our traffic fall even faster."
— Content Marketing Institute
The pitch: "Optimize for AI so you get cited!"
The reality: Users who get answers from AI don't click through. If the AI answer is satisfying, why would they visit your site?
You're optimizing the AI's product experience. Not yours.
How AI Actually Picks Sources
This is what AEO agencies don't explain clearly:
ChatGPT
Pulls from training data (a historical snapshot). Doesn't "choose" sources in real-time unless web browsing is explicitly triggered.
Top cited source? Wikipedia at 47.9% of citations.
Perplexity
Real-time search with a curated list of sources. Prioritizes trustworthiness over SEO signals.
Top cited source? Reddit at 6.6%. Forums beat polished corporate content.
Google AI Overviews
Synthesizes from indexed pages. Favors already-established authority. Traditional SEO winners keep winning.
Those Case Studies? Suspicious.
Every AEO vendor has impressive numbers:
The problems:
History Repeating
Remember when you "had to" optimize for:
Per Content Marketing Institute: "This mirrors past patterns: brands flooded Facebook, then social platforms eroded organic visibility. Now companies are again handing content to platforms that will ultimately benefit themselves, not the content creators."
Who's Actually Profiting
Tool vendors
HubSpot, SE Ranking, Otterly.ai all have AEO products to sell
Agencies
New service line, same deliverables, new invoice
Speakers & consultants
Conference circuit gold
Content farms
Endless 'Ultimate Guide to AEO' posts for affiliate links
What To Actually Do
The honest advice (which is free):
Keep doing good SEO
Structured content, clear answers, authority building. It works for both Google and AI.
Don't panic
AI traffic is still <15% of all queries. The sky isn't falling yet.
Track AI referrals in your analytics
Filter for chat.openai.com, perplexity.ai in your referral sources. It's free.
Don't pay $10K/month for "write good content"
That's what they're selling. Just with new acronyms.
The Bottom Line
AEO is what happens when the marketing industry runs out of new things to sell you, so they rename the old things and add a zero to the invoice.
The tactics are SEO. The measurements are made up. The case studies are unverified. And you're optimizing for platforms that take your content and give you less traffic in return.
As Content Marketing Institute puts it: "Take a beat and move forward with purpose, not panic. Test. Learn. Optimize where it adds real value. Step back where it doesn't."