Search engine optimizationSEO
Improving your site so it ranks higher in the classic list of links on Google and Bing.
In plain English
SEO is still the foundation. AI tools often search the web before answering, and they lean on pages that already rank well. Good SEO makes a page easy to find. AEO and GEO make it easy to quote.
In practice
A plumbing company’s page for “water heater repair in Tampa” ranks on page one, which also puts it in the pool AI Overviews draw from.
SEOvsAEO
SEO gets you ranked in the list of links. AEO gets you chosen as the answer itself.
Related terms
AI search basicsStarter Answer engine optimizationAEO Shaping your pages so an AI tool picks them as the direct answer to a buyer’s question. In practice, and related terms → How AI reads the webStarter Indexing When a search engine stores a page so it can show it in results. In practice, and related terms → Content & structureStarter Long-tail query A longer, more specific search or question that fewer people ask, but that is closer to a buying decision. In practice, and related terms →