For a long time, getting your website found online was mostly about one thing Google rankings. You researched keywords, optimized your pages, built links, worked on technical SEO and tried to move from page two to page one.
That still matters. But there is another layer now.
Someone looking for a service today might not search for five different websites. They might open ChatGPT and ask which agencies are good for their business. They might ask Gemini for recommendations or use Google’s AI-powered search results to get a summary before visiting any website at all.
That changes the way we should think about website content.
A website isn’t only trying to rank anymore. It also needs to provide information that can be picked up, interpreted and used when an AI system is putting together an answer.
So, how to optimize your website for AI search engines? The practical answer is actually less complicated than some of the “AI SEO hacks” floating around online. There is no special button for it, and you don’t need to rebuild your entire SEO strategy from scratch. You need a technically accessible website, useful content, clear information, good topical coverage and a reason for search engines to trust what you’re publishing.
This is where AEO and GEO fit in.
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. In simple terms, it means creating content that gives a clear answer to something a person is looking for.
Imagine a visitor lands on your website after searching for “What does technical SEO include?” They shouldn’t have to read an entire page about digital marketing before getting to the answer. A good page can give them a straightforward explanation first and then go into the details.
That’s the basic thinking behind AEO.
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is broader. It is concerned with how your content may be interpreted and used by generative search systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI-powered search experiences.
There is some overlap between the two. In fact, most of the work you do for one can benefit the other. Clear writing, useful information, proper website structure and good SEO fundamentals aren’t useful only because of AI. They make a website better for visitors too.
The first thing worth clearing up is that AI search hasn’t made SEO irrelevant.
If anything, the basics have become harder to ignore.
A search engine still needs to access your website before it can make use of the content. Important pages should be crawlable and indexable. Your internal links should make sense. The website shouldn’t have technical issues that prevent search engines from reaching the information you want them to see.
Google’s guidance around AI Overviews and AI Mode makes this fairly clear. Existing SEO fundamentals continue to apply to these search experiences.
So before spending time worrying about GEO tactics, check the basics. If your important service page isn’t indexed, fixing that is going to be far more useful than adding another paragraph about AI search.
This sounds like common sense, but websites often make visitors work harder than necessary.
A service page might start with a large headline, followed by a paragraph about the company’s vision, another about its commitment to excellence and then a few more lines of marketing language. The visitor has to scroll quite a bit before finding out what the service actually includes.
There is nothing wrong with an introduction, but don’t hide the answer behind it.
If a section is about website speed, talk about website speed. If it’s about SEO pricing, address the factors that affect pricing. If it’s about AEO, give the reader a useful definition before getting into the bigger discussion.
This kind of structure also makes individual sections easier for search systems to interpret.
Keyword research tells you what people type. It doesn’t always tell you why they’re typing it.
Take “SEO agency” as an example. One person searching that term might be ready to hire an agency. Another might be comparing agencies. Someone else might simply be trying to understand what an SEO agency does.
The content shouldn’t assume that every searcher is at the same stage.
This is why pages built entirely around keyword repetition tend to feel thin. They may mention the phrase you wanted to target, but they don’t necessarily answer the things a potential customer wants to know.
Look at the problem behind the search. What information would help the person take the next step? That is where the useful content usually comes from.
There is a particular style of website writing that sounds impressive until you actually try to read it.
“Leverage innovative digital solutions to enhance your online visibility and drive sustainable business growth.”
It sounds like marketing. It also doesn’t tell you very much.
Clear writing doesn’t have to be boring. It just needs to say something.
If your agency helps businesses improve their organic visibility, say that. If your service includes technical audits, content optimization and ongoing SEO work, explain that. If something depends on the client’s industry, website or competition, say so.
AI search is built around natural-language queries, so there is little reason for the content itself to sound unnatural.
You can be professional without making every sentence sound like it came from a corporate brochure.
A common content mistake is trying to target a keyword without really covering the subject.
Let’s say you’re publishing a guide about local SEO. You could define local SEO, mention Google Business Profile a couple of times and finish the article.
Technically, you’ve written about local SEO.
But you haven’t really helped anyone.
A more useful article might also discuss local landing pages, reviews, business information, location signals, internal linking and some of the practical things a local business can work on.
The point isn’t to make every blog enormous. It is to cover the subject to the point where the reader doesn’t immediately need to search for another article to fill in the gaps.
That depth also gives AI systems more context to work with.
This is becoming particularly important now that anyone can produce an article in minutes using an AI writing tool.
Generic information is everywhere.
If you search for “SEO benefits,” you’ll find countless pages saying roughly the same things: more traffic, better visibility, increased leads, stronger brand awareness and so on.
There is nothing wrong with those points. The problem is that there is nothing particularly yours about them.
If you run an agency, use the experience you already have. Talk about patterns you’ve noticed. Mention problems you regularly see on business websites. Explain why a particular approach works better in one situation and not another.
That kind of information gives your content some personality and, more importantly, some actual value.
You don’t need to turn every blog into a case study. Even a practical observation can make a page feel much less generic.
AI search also makes website-wide topical relevance more important.
Your service pages, blogs, FAQs and other resources should not feel like completely separate pieces of content. They should support one another.
If your website has a detailed page about technical SEO and you publish a blog discussing website crawlability, those pages should have a logical relationship. A relevant internal link can take the reader from one to the other.
This helps visitors find more information without having to return to search results. It also gives search engines additional context about the subjects your website covers.
The important word here is relevant. Internal linking should help someone, not simply exist to increase the number of links on a page.
There is one technical check that is worth making if ChatGPT visibility is part of your strategy.
OpenAI uses OAI-SearchBot to discover websites for ChatGPT Search. If your website is blocking that crawler, the content cannot be considered for inclusion.
Allowing OAI-SearchBot doesn’t mean your website will automatically appear in ChatGPT answers. It doesn’t work that way. It simply keeps your website eligible for consideration.
Your developer can check robots.txt and, depending on how the website is hosted, firewall, CDN and other security settings as well. Sometimes the problem isn’t obvious from the website itself.
Structured data has its place, but it has also become one of those topics where people promise more than it can actually do.
There is no special “ChatGPT schema” that guarantees AI visibility. Google has said that websites do not need special AI-specific markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. The existing structured-data guidelines still apply.
So use schema where it genuinely fits. Make sure the information is accurate and matches what is visible on the page. Then move on to the things that actually matter to the visitor.
A website shouldn’t make visitors guess whether the information they’re reading is reliable.
Clear company information helps. So does useful author information where appropriate, accurate service details, credible references and evidence for important claims.
This becomes especially important when the content deals with technical, financial, healthcare or other subjects where accuracy matters.
Saying “we are the leading company” doesn’t establish much on its own. Showing what you do, providing useful information and backing up important claims is far more convincing.
AI search isn’t the only reason to update old content.
If you’ve got a page that has been bringing in visitors for the last two or three years, it deserves a review. Some information may have changed. Links may have stopped working. Examples may feel outdated. There may be new developments that weren’t available when the article was first published.
Fix those things.
Don’t update an article just to change the date at the top. If you’re going to revisit it, make the page genuinely better.
It doesn’t have to look dramatically different from a good SEO article.
A useful page usually has a clear main topic, sensible headings and information that follows a logical path. Important questions are answered directly. Technical terms aren’t thrown around without context. Claims have supporting information where it is needed.
The biggest difference is that there is less room for filler.
If a paragraph doesn’t add anything, remove it.
If a sentence can be said clearly in one line instead of four, say it in one line.
If the reader needs an example to understand a concept, give them one.
These sound like writing basics, because they are. That’s also why AEO and GEO should not be treated as completely separate from good content writing.
There is no need to create completely different articles for every AI platform.
The fundamentals are broadly the same: make the information useful, keep the page accessible, cover the subject properly and make the context clear.
However, it is important not to assume that all platforms will produce the same result. Google, ChatGPT and Gemini use different systems and may retrieve information differently. A page appearing in one search experience doesn’t guarantee that it will appear in another.
This is one reason why chasing individual AI platforms isn’t a particularly sustainable strategy. Improving the overall quality and accessibility of your website gives you a stronger foundation regardless of where search goes next.
No.
SEO is changing, but it isn’t disappearing.
Search engines still need websites that can be crawled and indexed. They still need useful information to show users. Businesses still need pages that can attract visitors and convert them into enquiries or customers.
What has changed is that the search journey can now happen partly inside an AI-generated answer.
That means a website may need to do more than compete for a blue link. Its information may also need to be useful enough to become part of an answer.
Google has confirmed that its existing SEO fundamentals continue to apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode.
In other words, don’t stop doing SEO. Make your SEO better.
Measuring this isn’t quite as straightforward as checking a traditional keyword ranking.
Continue tracking organic traffic, impressions, clicks, rankings and conversions. These numbers still tell you whether your website is performing in traditional search.
Then look at AI-related visibility wherever reporting is available. Google has added generative AI search performance information to Search Console, giving website owners another way to see how pages are performing in its AI search experiences.
There is also some value in doing your own checks. Take ten or twenty topics that matter to your business and search them on different platforms. Look at the sources being referenced and the kind of information being used.
If competitors are consistently being mentioned while your website isn’t, don’t immediately assume they have found some secret AI trick. Look at their content. What are they covering that you’re not? Are their pages clearer? Do they have original information? Are their services explained better?
That’s where the useful insights usually are.
At Martech Simplified, we look at AI search as part of SEO and the wider digital presence of a business, rather than treating it as a completely separate service that exists because the latest marketing term happens to be popular.
A website has to work on several levels at once. It needs to be technically accessible, it needs content that answers what potential customers are looking for, and it needs to communicate the business properly once someone actually lands on the page.
That is why our approach doesn’t stop at adding keywords or producing blogs in bulk. We look at the website structure, content, search intent, internal linking and the areas where the business can provide information that competitors may not have.
And we don’t believe in making unrealistic promises around AI search.
Nobody can guarantee that a website will appear in every ChatGPT answer, every Gemini response or every Google AI Overview. Search systems don’t work that predictably.
What we can work towards is a website that has strong SEO foundations, useful content and a clear online presence that is prepared for the way people are searching now — and the way search is likely to keep evolving.
Before a page goes live, read it without thinking about SEO for a minute.
Does it actually answer something useful? Can someone who knows very little about the subject follow it? Is the important information easy to locate? Are there sections that exist only because someone wanted to increase the word count?
Then check the SEO side. Is the page crawlable and indexable? Are relevant internal links included? Is the content original? Are important claims supported? Is the structured data accurate where applicable? Are there technical settings preventing relevant crawlers from accessing the page?
You don’t need a complicated scoring system. A simple review can catch a lot.
There is a temptation right now to treat AI search like a completely new game with a completely new set of rules.
It isn’t.
The technology behind search is changing, and the way people interact with search is definitely changing. But the basic reason a useful website gets attention hasn’t changed much.
It gives people something worth their time.
If your website answers questions clearly, provides information that isn’t just copied from every other page online, keeps its important content updated and makes that information technically accessible, you’re building something that can adapt.
That is a much better long-term approach than trying to guess which phrase an AI system wants to see repeated next.
AEO and GEO are useful ways of thinking about the new search environment. But underneath all the terminology, the job is still fairly simple: create a website that has something useful to say, and make it easy for both people and search systems to find it.
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, focuses on creating website content that provides clear and useful answers to specific queries. It helps search engines and answer engines identify relevant information more easily.
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. It focuses on making website content useful and easy for generative AI systems to interpret, retrieve and potentially reference when creating responses.
Start with the fundamentals of SEO. Make important pages crawlable and indexable, write useful content, answer relevant queries directly, cover the topic properly, use natural language, build relevant internal links and provide original, trustworthy information. You should also check whether relevant AI crawlers can access your website.
Yes. Google has confirmed that existing SEO fundamentals remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Technical accessibility, indexability, useful content and other established SEO practices continue to matter.
No. Google does not require special AI-specific schema markup for AI Overviews or AI Mode. Websites should continue following Google’s existing structured-data guidelines.
Make sure your website allows OpenAI’s OAI-SearchBot to crawl the pages you want considered. This makes the content eligible for inclusion in ChatGPT Search, but it does not guarantee that a page will be shown or receive a particular position.
Not usually. A well-written, technically accessible website can support multiple search platforms. However, each platform has its own systems for retrieving and presenting information, so visibility may differ between them.
No. Repeating a keyword excessively doesn’t make a page more useful. Use the main keyword naturally and build the rest of the page around the subject, related concepts and the information visitors actually need.
There is no fixed length for AEO content. A page should be long enough to cover the topic properly and answer relevant queries, but there is no benefit in adding paragraphs that don’t provide useful information just to reach a particular word count.
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