“Hear ye, hear ye, all who enter here! AI has taken over, SEO is dead!” —Some doomsday-er on LinkedIn, probably.
AEO (answer engine optimization) “experts” are shouting panic into everyone’s feed that EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED! Your CEO forwarded you three newsletters about ChatGPT citations with the subject line "Thoughts?" And you’re scrolling through it all, trying to figure out if this is genuine panic territory or just the latest acronym parade.
After implementing AEO strategies for B2B clients and running our own experiments at storyarb, our consensus is that the hype is overblown—but the shift towards AEO is absolutely real.
Search behavior is fundamentally changing. Solution-seekers are turning to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and AI Overviews instead of traditional search. (Is “ChatGPT it” the new “Google it”?) When someone asks an LLM about your industry, your content either shows up as a cited source, or it doesn't exist in that conversation at all.
So does the arrival of AEO mean your SEO’s days are numbered?
…no.
You don’t need to grab the shovel yet. Good AEO is good SEO. Here’s how to make it work.
⚒️ LLM Sentiment Tracker Template
Download our template for tracking LLM sentiment about your company, industry, and key topics over time.
Key takeaways: 3 things you need to know about AEO strategy
- AEO builds on SEO fundamentals—healthy sites, fast load times, and high-quality content already support your AEO strategy
- Track these baseline metrics to see how you stack up: SEO performance, LLM outputs, and referral traffic from AI platforms
- Add summaries at the top of your content and FAQs at the end of long-form content for better LLM discoverability (...we are literally doing this in this post)
How AEO actually works
As a storyarb Content Strategist, Emily Greffenius brings years of SEO expertise to the AI search era. She’s our resident expert leading AEO implementation for B2B clients and running optimization experiments on storyarb's own content. She explains:
Answer engine optimization is all about optimizing a brand's content and digital presence to make it more likely they’ll be pulled in as a trusted source in AI-generated answers on various AI or LLM platforms.”
That’s it. Literally.
While it seems simple, the reason it matters so much is because search behavior is seeing a change at its core. Gone are the days of one-line Google searches and “10 blue links” marketing strategies. Users are having full conversations with LLMs, asking follow-up questions, using semantic queries that go way beyond keyword matching.
Yes, the behavior is changing, but that doesn’t mean your strategy around optimization needs a full-on Pimp My Ride-level overhaul. A Princess Diaries-esque revamp is all you need.
SEO + AEO need a couples therapist, not a divorce lawyer
Across the marketing industry, you'll see people claiming AEO is entirely different from SEO, and nothing you know about SEO applies anymore.
*Loud incorrect buzzer noise.*
Emily explains:
SEO and AEO are part of the same organic marketing strategy. They shouldn't be entirely divorced from one another; they should be layered on top of one another.”
Good AEO functions on the same fundamentals that SEO does. If you've already been implementing good SEO practices—a healthy website, fast load times, high-quality content—those things already support your AEO strategy.
Think about what makes content successful in traditional search:
- Helpful, customer-focused content that solves real problems
- Clear, descriptive, natural language
- Original insights and unique perspectives
- Technical health (site speed, clean code, mobile optimization)
Every single one of those elements matters for AEO too. The difference lies in how LLMs work compared to search engines.
"LLMs are content aggregators. They go across the internet and databases, aggregating everything they can, to give searchers the most likely answers to their queries,” Emily explains. “But just because they’re crawling your content doesn’t mean they’re citing it.”
Without keywords doing the heavy lifting, how do you stand out?
You create genuinely new content.
If your content is generic, LLMs don’t need to cite it—because it's in line with everything else. They can spit out an answer based on what they already have in their knowledge base, because there's no new information to reshape their existing response.
When you have truly unique content, you basically force the LLM to cite it, because you offer a genuinely unique perspective that shifts the existing answer.
LLMs can't create entirely new insights because they're built to aggregate and compile. Which is exactly why storyarb's approach—interviewing SMEs, capturing unique insights, and turning that into selfless, original content—has been future-proofing our clients for this shift.
The 4 dials of AEO
There are four dials that feed into your AEO strength: measurement, content, infrastructure, and validation.
Like a mixing board, all four dials need to be turned to the right level for the system to work. Each can be adjusted independently, but you need all of them hitting the right channels for optimal performance. Attentive tweaking ensures your AEO is in tune.
Dial 1: Measurement (know where you stand)
Most companies have no clue if they're showing up in AI search results—or which queries actually matter. To get an understanding of where you’re standing, track these 3 things:
SEO performance metrics. "Understanding your SEO performance is a really good place to start, because a lot of these AI search tools also take a look at keyword search volume. While that's never going to be a one-to-one for an LLM, it's a good ballpark," Emily notes.
LLM outputs. Third-party platforms like Gauge, Profound, and ZipTie function as "SEMrush for LLMs." If you’re working without a tool, create a list of questions, test both direct and indirect queries, and track sentiment over time.
Referral traffic. Most analytics platforms log referral traffic in some capacity, tracking whether brands are actually getting traffic from various LLMs.
Dial 2: Content (what you say matters most)
The foundation of your content is solid if you're already working with subject matter experts to write unique, insights-driven content. The next step is packaging those insights so machines can understand them as easily as humans do.
At storyarb, we've made two template updates so that our content is more discoverable by LLMs:
1. Add a summary at the top. Aim to include these 2-3 sentences after the introduction. "LLM bots read pages from the top to the bottom,” Emily explains. “They have what's called a crawl budget, meaning they don’t always make it to the bottom of a page.” The beginning of your content is your most valuable real estate.
2. Add FAQs at the end. LLMs love FAQ-style content (“here’s a really clear question, and here's a really clear answer”)—but don't force FAQs where they don't fit.
Keep language simple and direct. For both pieces, the name of the game with AEO strategy is clarity.
Dial 3: Infrastructure (fortify underneath the copy)
Bots don’t read the way humans do.
“LLMs rely heavily on technical elements that human visitors don’t see every day,” Emily explains. “Those technical elements need to be in order if you ever want to be cited in LLMs.”
Consider these key elements for your website infrastructure:
- website speed
- clean HTML
- schema markup
- your robots.txt file
Notably, LLM bots cannot render JavaScript, crawl, or understand images (they know if an image is there, but not what the image is). They rely on a page's HTML code to understand the content.
Dial 4: Validation (be a trusted source)
Third-party mentions in reputable media outlets and presence in places like review sites (G2, Clutch), Wikipedia, Reddit, and Quora are a must.
"If you're not visible beyond your own website, it’s very unlikely you’ll be mentioned in AI-generated content," Emily says.
If you're not monitoring what LLMs say about you, you're letting them write your story.
⚒️ LLM Sentiment Tracker Template
Download our template for tracking LLM sentiment about your company, industry, and key topics over time.
Mini case study: How Vector showed up in Google’s Overview links
If you need an example of this validation in practice, look no further than Vector.
Jess Cook, Head of Marketing, routinely unpublishes outdated content because "AI aggregates everything you've published to form answers. Outdated content will make AI get your company completely wrong," she explains.
"We found out ChatGPT thought our marketing solution was a New Zealand-based manufacturing company. So yeah… we had to fix that.”
Vector’s approach to LLM-friendly content helps them show up in Google's AI Overview for key terms and questions related to their work. If you’re still scratching your head on how LLM optimization works in practice, here’s what it looks like for Vector:
1. Routinely unpublish outdated content. Like Jess mentioned above, LLMs will aggregate everything you have ever put out there. (Mom was right, the internet is more forever than it’s ever been.) Leave the past where it belongs and unpublish anything that isn’t relevant to you right now.
2. Identify what questions your ICP might be asking. Jess identified prospects’ common FAQs, then tracked LLM responses to those questions over time:
- What is Vector?
- What does Vector do?
- How much does Vector cost?
3. Document results. LLMs will not update overnight. Keep a log of LLM sentiment towards your company as you go. Without this data, you won’t have a clue whether your AEO strategy is hitting the jackpot or a total bust.
Jess recommends checking in on a quarterly basis, using these guiding questions:
- What did AI say about you three months ago?
- What does it say about you now?
- What do you hope it will say about you in the future?
(More on Jess’s ungated content strategy here.)
Content still wears the crown
LLMs reward the brands that stay current, stay clear, and stay visible across multiple channels. If you're not actively managing what they know about you, someone else's outdated information is filling that gap.
But AEO doesn't mean your existing content strategy is obsolete. The content marketing fundamentals you should have been following all along—original insights, clear language, customer-focused value—are now more important than ever.
If you've been investing in SME-driven content, unique perspectives, and genuinely helpful resources: You're already 80% of the way there. The tactical adjustments—summaries, FAQs, technical health—are additional optimizations for LLMs.
And if you've been cutting corners with generic, templated content…that content was never going to perform well in traditional search anyway.
"Good content is a massive part of an AEO strategy. That’s why we're talking about it today; that’s why it’s the core of our work at storyarb,” Emily explains. “Your AI-era strategy can’t succeed without the right content behind it.”
The content that builds trust with your ICP is the content LLMs will cite. Funny how that works.
FAQ
(Why yes, these FAQs you see at the bottom of our blog posts are part of our AEO strategy. Thank you for noticing. And also, if you’re here, worth the read.)
What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?
Answer engine optimization makes your brand's content show up as a cited source when people ask questions on AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
AEO refers to optimization techniques that ensure your content is visible on answer engines, usually LLMs or other AI-powered answer generators. SEO refers to optimization techniques that help ensure your content is visible on traditional search engines, like Google or Bing.
AEO and SEO function on the same fundamentals—both reward helpful, original content with strong technical health. The difference is that LLMs aggregate content differently than search engines, requiring summaries and FAQs for better discoverability.
Do I need to rebuild my content strategy for AEO?
No. If you've been implementing good SEO practices—fast site, clean code, high-quality content—you're already 80% of the way there. AEO requires tactical adjustments, not a complete overhaul.
How do I measure AEO performance?
Track three metrics: SEO performance from tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs, LLM outputs and citations using platforms like Profound or Gauge, and referral traffic from AI platforms in your analytics.
How often should I track what LLMs say about my brand?
Check in on a quarterly basis, testing specific queries about your brand, products, and industry across multiple AI platforms to ensure accuracy and identify opportunities for improvement. If you have the resources, or if you’ve recently published new content, check in even more frequently. LLM outputs can sometimes change in a matter of days when given new information.
