AEO vs. SEO: What Are They, and How Are They Different?

There’s a new language taking over the marketing industry. SEO is becoming AEO. Sometimes it’s GEO. Occasionally it’s LLMO. Give it another six months and somebody will probably invent EIEIO.

Along with these wonderful new acronyms comes an increasingly popular prediction: Google is dying, nobody visits websites anymore, and everyone’s using ChatGPT to find businesses. Apparently, if you haven’t completely reinvented your marketing strategy around artificial intelligence, you’re already behind.

It’s a fascinating prediction, particularly because Google doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo.

On October 28, 2026, Google reported its fastest year-over-year search query growth in five years. In early November, new research from Ahrefs showed Google sending nearly 69 times as much traffic to websites as ChatGPT during October. And according to Statcounter, Google still held approximately 91% of the worldwide traditional search engine market.

That’s quite a lot of activity for a supposedly dying search engine.

Of course, AI search is growing rapidly, and for good reason. People can ask ChatGPT to recommend contractors, compare products, research businesses, and help make purchasing decisions. For companies, that creates another opportunity to get discovered, and it’s one we take seriously at Palmer Creative Co.

But there’s something amusing about the explosion of new services promising to make businesses appear in AI search. A surprising amount of what’s being presented as revolutionary AI optimization has been fundamental to SEO for years.

And Google itself has been saying much the same thing.

So, what exactly is AEO? Does better SEO help you rank in ChatGPT? Is AI search optimization worth paying for? And how much of this supposed revolution involves improving the same websites, content, and business information we’ve been working with for decades?

Let’s get into it.

Is ChatGPT Replacing Google in 2026? Here’s What the Numbers Say.

The idea that ChatGPT is replacing Google makes for a fantastic conference presentation. It creates urgency, gives everyone something to worry about, and makes the person holding the microphone sound like they’ve seen the future.

The actual numbers tell a more interesting story.

In November 2026, Ahrefs updated its AI vs. Search Traffic Analysis ↗︎, examining website traffic across 118,671 websites using its analytics platform.

Here’s what it found for October 2026:

Google generated approximately 297.8 million tracked visits, compared with ChatGPT’s 4.3 million. Traditional search engines collectively accounted for 27.55% of website visits, while AI assistants accounted for approximately 0.46%.

Within that dataset, Google sent nearly 69 website visitors for every one sent by ChatGPT.

Now, it’s important to understand what those numbers measure. Website traffic is different from search volume. Someone can spend an hour asking ChatGPT questions without visiting another website, and not every interaction with an AI assistant involves searching the web.

But for businesses wondering where actual website visitors are coming from, the difference is substantial.

And there’s another interesting statistic.

According to Statcounter’s October 2026 data ↗︎, Google held approximately 91.05% of the worldwide traditional search engine market. That percentage compares conventional search engines, so it shouldn’t be mistaken for Google’s share of every question asked across chatbots, shopping platforms, and social media.

Still, Google remains enormous.

What Is AEO? And What’s the Difference Between AEO, GEO, and SEO?

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It refers to practices intended to improve how businesses, websites, and information appear in answers generated by AI-powered search tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI features.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the established practice of improving how websites appear in search engines like Google and Bing.

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is another term for improving visibility within AI-generated responses.

The terminology gets a little messy because there isn’t one universally accepted distinction between AEO and GEO. Different agencies and software companies often use them interchangeably.

But the basic idea is straightforward.

Imagine you own a roofing company in St. Louis.

Someone Googles “roof replacement St. Louis.” Traditional SEO helps your website appear when people search for that service.

Now someone asks ChatGPT, “Which roofing contractors in St. Louis specialize in storm damage and insurance claims?”

The assistant might provide a list of companies, explaining which ones offer those services.

AEO concerns whether your business appears in those answers.

But think about what the AI needs to know. It needs information about your services, location, specialties, experience, and reputation.

Where might that information come from?

Your website, business listings, reviews, articles, and other online sources.

Sound familiar?

That’s because these are many of the same things businesses have been optimizing for traditional search for years.

The differences in how results are presented and measured are meaningful. But the overlap is substantial.

Even Semrush’s September 2026 AEO vs. SEO guide ↗︎ acknowledges that many of the same factors supporting traditional rankings can improve a website’s chances of being cited by AI systems.

And according to Google, that relationship is even more direct.

Google Says AEO and GEO Still Rely on SEO

One of the most interesting pieces of evidence comes directly from Google Search Central.

In its official guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode ↗︎, Google explains that its AI search features depend on established search systems and that traditional SEO best practices remain relevant.

The recommendations should sound remarkably familiar.

Make your website accessible to search engines. Publish useful, original content. Organize information logically. Maintain accurate business details. Give visitors a good experience.

Google also states that there are no additional technical requirements or special optimizations necessary to appear in its AI features beyond the normal requirements for Google Search.

There’s a technical reason for this connection.

Google’s AI features can retrieve information from its existing search index while generating answers. One technique involves exploring several related searches to answer a complicated question, a process Google calls query fan-out.

Imagine someone asking about replacing a roof after a hailstorm. Google’s AI might retrieve information about roofing materials, repair costs, insurance claims, and nearby contractors before producing a response.

Much of that information comes from the same broader search infrastructure traditional SEO has focused on for years.

In March 2026, Ahrefs studied approximately four million URLs cited in Google’s AI Overviews ↗︎. It found that roughly 38% of cited URLs also appeared among the top ten conventional organic search results for the same query.

That’s meaningful overlap, although the research also demonstrates that AI Overviews frequently use sources beyond the highest-ranking pages.

It explains why good SEO can improve a company’s foundation for AI visibility without guaranteeing that every AI platform will recommend it.

And it raises an entertaining question about the growing market for AEO services.

Are AEO Services Just SEO With a New Price Tag?

Search engine optimization has been around for decades. Businesses have been improving websites, publishing useful content, building reputations, and earning links since long before ChatGPT existed.

Now, some of those activities are being advertised as revolutionary developments in artificial intelligence.

Look at what an AEO package might include: technical website audits, service-page improvements, keyword research, structured data, content optimization, business listings, and reputation management.

All valuable activities. All familiar parts of SEO.

To be fair, there are legitimate additions. Monitoring AI recommendations, investigating which sources different assistants reference, and checking AI-specific crawler access can require additional research and reporting.

But the underlying foundation remains remarkably similar.

Even Conductor’s research on SEO and AEO ↗︎ explains that the technical foundations, useful content, and credibility supporting traditional rankings also contribute to AI search visibility.

Which makes the sudden explosion of AI search expertise particularly entertaining. The technology changes almost every week, yet an impressive number of people have already mastered it well enough to start teaching everybody else.

Some have substantial experience and measurable results. Others seem particularly enthusiastic about the presentation portion.

At Palmer Creative Co., we offer AI search optimization because businesses have legitimate reasons to care about appearing in ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, and other platforms.

We also recognize that improving AI visibility may involve strengthening the website, content, and SEO foundation a company already has.

Sometimes that means developing useful service pages. Sometimes it’s improving technical accessibility, earning relevant coverage, or investigating why competitors appear in AI responses.

And sometimes specialized AI visibility monitoring is worth the additional investment.

The important part is understanding what needs improvement, why it matters, and whether it’s producing worthwhile results.

A new acronym doesn’t automatically mean somebody discovered a new science.

And What About All These AI Agents?

There’s another term becoming increasingly popular in conversations about the future of search: AI agents.

You may have heard predictions that customers will stop visiting websites because they’ll simply tell their AI agents what they want. ChatGPT and Gemini are frequently presented as examples.

There’s genuinely interesting technology behind that prediction, although the terminology occasionally gets ahead of itself.

ChatGPT and Gemini are AI assistants that can support agentic capabilities. Asking either one to answer a question or recommend a business doesn’t automatically make the interaction an AI agent.

According to OpenAI’s practical guide to building agents ↗︎, an agent is a system that can manage workflows, use tools, and take actions on someone’s behalf with a degree of independence.

Imagine asking ChatGPT to recommend Italian restaurants in Chicago. It researches a few options and suggests places you might enjoy.

That’s an AI-assisted search experience.

An agentic system could go further by checking reservation availability, selecting an appropriate restaurant, and completing the booking through connected services with the necessary permissions.

It’s a little like calling someone a travel agent because they told you where the nearest airport is.

And here’s the interesting part for businesses: AI agents that complete tasks may still need websites, scheduling systems, product information, APIs, and other digital services to carry out those actions.

An agent scheduling an appointment needs somewhere to schedule it. An agent purchasing a product needs access to inventory, pricing, and checkout functionality.

As these technologies develop, having accurate information and functional digital systems may become increasingly valuable.

It’s an area we’re particularly interested in at Palmer Creative Co. because we work with websites, automation, and AI systems alongside search optimization.

The technology is exciting enough without giving every chatbot a promotion to agent.

Does Better SEO Help You Rank in ChatGPT?

In many cases, strong SEO creates a better foundation for AI search visibility, particularly when it improves how accessible, relevant, and credible information about your business is.

That relationship is especially apparent in Google’s AI features, which use established search systems.

Other assistants may retrieve information through different providers and tools. A top Google ranking doesn’t guarantee a recommendation from ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity, but the same useful content and credible business information can support discoverability across multiple platforms.

For example, imagine someone asking an AI assistant to recommend website development agencies specializing in manufacturing companies.

The system needs information about which agencies serve manufacturers, what projects they’ve completed, and whether credible sources support their experience.

A company with useful service pages, detailed project examples, professional recognition, and an established online reputation has already created information that can help answer those questions.

We’ve observed this relationship firsthand at Palmer Creative Co. In our own AI search comparisons, we’ve seen our company recommended ahead of local competitors actively promoting workshops about getting businesses found through ChatGPT and other AI tools.

It’s an interesting result, especially alongside some of the sweeping predictions being made about Google and business websites.

AI recommendations can change depending on the question, platform, location, and available sources, so any single comparison is a snapshot. But it’s a useful reminder that the fundamentals of search visibility still matter.

If you want the practical version of those fundamentals, our free SEO and AI search guide breaks down how to improve your website’s visibility across Google, ChatGPT, and other search tools.

And it gives business owners a reasonable question to ask when evaluating someone offering AI search services: how does that provider’s own business appear for the services they specialize in?

How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI Search

Imagine you own a kitchen remodeling company in Southern Illinois. You’ve completed hundreds of projects, have photographs of beautiful finished kitchens, and receive excellent customer feedback.

Unfortunately, your website says you’re passionate about excellence, committed to innovation, and dedicated to transforming dreams into reality.

Wonderful. But can you remodel a kitchen?

That’s a surprisingly common problem. Business websites often contain plenty of impressive-sounding language while doing a poor job of explaining what the company actually offers.

Improving that information is one of the most useful places to start.

Is AEO Worth Paying For in 2026?

It can be, particularly for businesses whose customers use AI assistants to research purchases, compare providers, and make decisions.

The value depends on what the service includes and how it fits into the company’s existing marketing.

Imagine a local plumbing company receiving most of its leads through Google Search and Maps. If its website has outdated information, incomplete service pages, or technical problems, improving those fundamentals may be the most valuable starting point.

Those improvements can also support AI search visibility.

Now imagine a national software company whose customers spend weeks asking AI assistants to compare products and vendors. That business might benefit from specialized research into AI recommendations, competing brands, and cited sources.

Both companies have reasons to care about AEO, but their priorities are different.

At Palmer Creative Co., we provide SEO and AI search optimization as part of helping businesses improve how they’re found online. That can include website improvements, content development, technical SEO, business information, and analysis of recommendations across AI platforms.

We also think businesses deserve to know what they’re purchasing.

If an agency proposes an AEO service, it’s reasonable to ask what will be changed, how it overlaps with existing SEO efforts, and what will be measured.

A credible provider can explain those details in language a business owner understands.

And if someone guarantees permanent first-place placement in ChatGPT, that’s a good opportunity to ask how they’re accounting for responses that change according to the question, platform, and available information.

SEO, AEO, and the Future of Search

Google’s latest figures don’t suggest it’s going anywhere soon. Search activity is growing, AI features are becoming more prominent, and traditional search continues sending substantial traffic to websites.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI platforms are giving people additional ways to discover businesses and research decisions.

For companies, that creates opportunities to reach customers across more places.

Strong SEO remains an important foundation because it helps make information accessible, relevant, and useful. AI search adds considerations about how systems retrieve that information, generate recommendations, and present answers.

Some of those considerations require additional attention. Many rely on established practices that have made SEO valuable for years.

At Palmer Creative Co., we’re interested in both because our goal is to help businesses get discovered by the people looking for what they offer.

Sometimes that means a better website. Sometimes it’s stronger search-focused content, improved technical SEO, or understanding why particular companies are appearing in AI-generated recommendations.

And sometimes it’s a combination.

The terminology will undoubtedly keep changing. There will be more research, more tools, more services, and almost certainly more acronyms. Somewhere, someone is probably already preparing the presentation.

But when somebody asks Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, or another platform to recommend a business like yours, there’s a pretty simple question worth answering.

Are you one of the companies they find?

That’s what we’re interested in improving at Palmer Creative Co.

And if we ever start offering EIEIO optimization, you’ll be the first to know.