What is AI SEO ?
The Duke/Fuqua CMO Survey (Fall 2024) shows 94.1% of marketers adopted AI in 3 years, fueling demand. Gartner (2024): 33% of CMOs cite AI efficiencies as top ROI gain.
TL;DR
AI SEO makes content legible to AI systems (Google’s AI Overviews, LLM assistants) using entities, answer-led writing, and schema.
Answer hubs, internal links, and trustworthy citations increase citation likelihood and non-brand demand.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) align pages to snippet-ready fragments.
Success is measured by AI Overview visibility, non-brand clicks, qualified leads, meetings, and influenced pipeline.
AI Overview Snippets
AI SEO optimizes pages for AI systems by focusing on entities, short factual fragments, and schema.
Answer hubs with TLDRs and FAQs raise eligibility for AI Overviews and answer engines.
Internal linking and citations build topical authority and trust for B2B brands.
Track AI Overview visibility, non-brand clicks, qualified leads, and pipeline impact.
AI SEO: Definition and Business Impact
What AI SEO is
AI SEO is search optimization designed for AI-driven results—not only classic blue links. Pages are built so AI models can extract, verify, and cite short, factual fragments. Core elements are entity mapping, answer-led content, structured data, internal links, and trustworthy citations.
How it differs from traditional SEO
Traditional SEO centers on keywords and rankings. AI SEO centers on entities and answers: the goal is to become a cited source in AI Overviews and LLM assistants while still ranking in organic results. Copy is concise, verifiable, and structured to be fragment-ready.
The building blocks
Entity mapping & taxonomy: standardize names for products, industries, roles, regions; use consistently in titles, headings, alt text, and anchors.
Answer hubs: question-first pages with TL;DR, concise sections, and FAQs; interlink to services and case studies.
Schema & technical readiness: Organization, WebPage, Article, FAQPage, Breadcrumb; fast pages, clean canonicals/sitemaps.
Internal linking: route authority to hubs; use clear, entity-rich anchors; keep shallow click depth.
Citations & EEAT signals: publish evidence-backed content; earn mentions from credible industry sites; maintain bios and brand consistency.
GEO and AEO in practice
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): structure content and sources so generative systems trust and surface your brand.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): write pages that directly answer buyer questions with short, fact-led fragments and links to deeper resources.
Measurement that matters
Track AI Overview Visibility Rate (AOVR), non-brand clicks, qualified leads, meetings, influenced pipeline, and payback period. Use UTMs and CRM to attribute impact.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Walls of text with no TL;DR; inconsistent entity names; vague, salesy copy; thin or unverified claims; fragmented internal links; skipping schema validation.
Quick 90-day plan
Ship 3–5 answer hubs on money topics; add schema and internal links; earn one credible external citation per hub; measure AOVR and non-brand outcomes; refresh monthly with new FAQs and examples.