AEO
What is AEO?
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AI answer engines are quietly replacing the search results page. Agencies that get their clients recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity now are building a service most rivals can't sell yet, while everyone else is still fighting over page one.
Why it matters
Your client's next customer is asking AI, not Google
Search is moving to AI
More people skip the search page entirely and just ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity - and your clients are being judged there whether they know it or not.
One answer, not ten links
AI usually names a short list of businesses, sometimes just one. If your client isn't in that answer, they're not in the running.
“Near me” is now a conversation
“Where’s the best plumber near me?” used to mean a Google search. Now it’s a single, confident reply - and your client is either in it or invisible.
Invisible to ready-to-buy customers
People asking AI for a recommendation are ready to act. A client left out of the answer loses them before they ever see the name.
A conversation only you can start
Almost no local business knows what AI says about them - which makes it the perfect reason to pick up the phone and open a new pitch.
The data
We didn't guess - we analysed 10,000 businesses
To find out what actually gets a local business recommended by AI, we studied 10,000 US businesses across ChatGPT and Perplexity, correlating 200+ digital marketing signals against real AI answers. We published every finding as the AI Visibility Report.
10,000
US businesses analysed across 200+ ranking signals - the most comprehensive study of how AI chooses local businesses, and the proof behind everything on this page.
AEO vs SEO
What's actually different
Ten blue links → one answer
Search showed a page of options to choose from. AI gives one short, confident recommendation - a single business, not a page of options.
A ranking → a mention
It's no longer about where your client sits on page one. It's whether the AI can find, name, and recommend them.
Keywords → trust signals
AI leans on reviews, accurate listings and clear content far more than the keyword tricks that move Google rankings.
The click → the answer
AI often answers for the customer directly, so what it knows about your client matters more than winning the click.
A new layer, not a replacement
AEO builds on the SEO work you already sell - same foundations, a new payoff. It's an easy upsell, not a rebuild.
What to fix
The three things that decide whether AI recommends your client
AI weighs the same trust signals a careful customer would - and our 10,000-business study shows exactly which ones move the needle. Every one of them is within your client's control.
On the website
What an AI-ready website looks like
More pages, more coverage
Give AI more to cite. A dedicated, up-to-date page for each service and location means AI can match your client to more of the questions customers actually ask.
Strong E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust. Real author names, credentials, case studies and clear “about” detail tell AI - and Google - this is a business worth recommending.
Answer real questions
Write the way customers ask. Content that answers the actual questions people put to AI, in plain language, is far more likely to be quoted back to them.
Plain-language FAQs
A clear FAQ section turns your client's most common customer questions into ready-made answers AI can lift straight into a recommendation.
Get the technical hygiene right
Schema markup and an llms.txt file are worth adding and sharpen traditional search - though our data shows reviews, listings and clear content do the heavy lifting for AI. Do them, but don't stop there.
