Answer engine optimization (AEO) and search engine optimization (SEO) are digital marketing strategies that help businesses improve their online visibility. SEO has been around for decades, but AEO is a newer strategy that has come up with the rise in AI adoption.
With increasing propaganda about SEO being dead and AEO replacing it, it’s increasingly important to learn the differences between the two strategies and if they relate in any way. This guide will help you distinguish between AEO and SEO by covering the following topics:
- What is AEO?
- What is SEO?
- What are the key differences between AEO and SEO
- AEO and SEO trends in 2025
- FAQs on AEO vs SEO
What is AEO?
Answer engine optimization is an advanced optimization strategy focused on providing search engine users with direct and concise answers to their queries. The concept is quickly gaining traction as different search engines provide users with instant, summarized replies that keep them on one page.
Optimizing your content and website for AEO ensures brand visibility on AI-powered answer engines like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. It also ensures you align your content with modern search behaviors so it can appear on Google AI overviews, voice assistant, and structured data.
AEO future-proofs your website to ensure it keeps up with the shift to AI-driven search tools and enhances user experience. Optimizing for AEO involves building on time-tested SEO best practices like the use of keywords and producing authentic and high-quality content.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is the pioneer optimization method that’s been used for decades, more precisely since the 90s, to help websites rank highly on search engines to attract more traffic and drive leads and conversions.
SEO focuses on helping businesses boost their organic visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) of traditional search engines like Google and Bing. A smart SEO strategy works for every marketing funnel stage, from building qualified traffic in the awareness stage to encouraging conversions in the action stage.
What are the key differences between AEO and SEO?
While AEO and SEO have several similarities, they also have differences that range from their main goals and focus to how each is implemented. Below, we get a deep dive into the main differences between SEO and AEO.
This table highlights the main differences between AEO and SEO:
| AEO | SEO | |
| Focus and objectives | Provide direct and concise answers | Improve search rankings and traffic |
| User targeting | Voice-based searchers and conversational queries | Traditional text-based searched |
| Content focus | Structured and concise answers | Detailed and keyword-focused |
| Devices targeted | Voice assistants and AI chatbots | Traditional desktop and mobile search engines, like Google and Bing |
| KPIs and metrics | Visibility on featured snippets, AI overview, and people also ask sections | Boost keyword rankings, drive organic traffic, and increase click-through rate |
1. Goals and objectives
For two decades, SEO’s main goal has been to rank pages higher on traditional search engines and drive organic website traffic. Conversely, AEO focuses on delivering direct and precise answers to AI-powered search engine users.
AEO differs from SEO because it doesn’t aim to drive users to websites. Instead, it optimizes content to appear on featured snippets, Google AI overviews, knowledge graphs, and voice search answers. These results pages offer summaries that don’t require users to click through to website pages.
AEO focuses more on the user experience than SEO, which insists on structuring around specific keywords that help your web pages appear for relevant search queries. With SEO, you can attract users to your website, driving leads and conversions, and with AEO, you get to build trust and authority by providing users with quick and direct answers.
2. Optimization methods
SEO has numerous tried-and-true optimization techniques that can help capture over 40% of revenue. Websites utilize the following SEO optimization tactics to improve search rankings and online visibility:
- Strategic keyword research and placement to match user queries
- Backlinking and link building to boost domain authority
- Metadata optimization to attract relevant traffic
- User experience (UX) improvements with fast loading speeds and mobile friendliness
AEO optimization borrows a lot of optimization tactics from SEO, but has a few unique techniques that ensure your content and website appear on answer search engines. It involves optimizing content for AI language models and natural language processing in the following ways:
- Aligning content with modern search behaviors
- Structuring content to lead by providing answers upfront
- Focusing on providing users with value instead of matching keywords
- Establishing authority with clear, concise, and well-structured content
- Integrating structured data like schema markup to help answer engines index your content
3. Content formats
SEO optimization focuses on long-form content, like blogs, articles, and webinars, where you can incorporate keywords and optimize any detail to the desired degree. On the other hand, AEO favors snippets of content that AI language models find easy to summarize, like:
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs): These are a bunch of common questions and answers about a business’s product, service, or company. They minimize support requests and enhance user experience.
- Featured snippets: A short excerpt displayed at the top of Google search results pages you optimize by answering questions directly, using concise and direct language, and optimizing for readability with lists and tables.
- People also ask (PAA): The PAA section displays related questions and answers, and you can optimize to appear in this section by including an FAQ, using question-based headings, and providing concise answers.
- Schema markups: Also referred to as structured data, schema markup is a code added to a website’s HTML to help search engines understand and index your web pages.
While SEO has room for detailed content that presents many angles, AEO aims to present users with clear and concise answers. Optimizing for AEO also emphasizes the need to create short, compelling headings and scannable elements like lists and tables.
4. Search behaviors
AEO is here to adapt to changing search behaviors, which are moving away from traditional text-based searches to voice searches and more conversational queries. AEO aims to cater to modern context-based searches with direct and concise answers.
Contrastingly, SEO is suited to keyword-focused, text-based searches that target a broad audience seeking detailed information and intent to explore further on a website. AEO favors users using mobile, voice assistants, like Alexa, Siri, and Google Home or AI-powered chatbots.
AEO and SEO trends in 2025
AI continues to disrupt the digital landscape, transforming how people search, consume, and interact with content on traditional search engines, social media, and AI-powered search engines. Here are some AEO and SEO trends that will define the next decade of search:
- AEO is here to keep up with the shifting search behaviors, especially fueled by the growing demand for voice-based content, which is now at over a billion voice searches monthly.
- AI-driven algorithms will enhance the contextual relevance of search results.
- Machine learning is helping search engines understand user intent better and bridge the gap between AEO and SEO.
- Over 65% of Google queries now end up in zero-click searches.
- Google will continue considering helpful search results for AI overviews, which appear before organic search results, offering more visibility.
FAQs on AEO vs. SEO
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions and answers about AEO versus SEO.
Can AEO and SEO work together?
Yes. AEO and SEO can work together because they’re complementary strategies. Businesses need to integrate both strategies to maximize their online visibility and to ensure you’re meeting your readers wherever they are.
So, how do you use them together? Start by using SEO for keyword research, and then build on it by using AEO to nail search intent and deliver concise and contextually relevant content.
Is AEO replacing SEO?
No — AEO is not replacing SEO. It’s building on the foundational principles of SEO to deliver more direct and concise results to users using AI chatbots and voice searches.
What are the benefits of using AEO alongside SEO?
Optimizing for both AEO and SEO ensures your content appears on traditional search engines, AI-powered search engines, social media search engines, and voice search assistants. This provides businesses with visibility everywhere.
Should I prioritize AEO over SEO?
If you have your SEO all sorted out, then it’s worth prioritizing SEO for a while to keep up with the trends and stay ahead of the curve.
Drive results with powerful AEO and SEO strategies
Combining AEO and SEO strategies will help you achieve greater online visibility and gain a competitive edge. OmniSEO is a search-everywhere optimization that enables you to grow your visibility on different search engines, AI platforms, and social media networks.
With OmniSEO™, you get to optimize for AEO, SEO, and generative engine optimization (GEO) simultaneously to save time and resources. Request a free demo today to start diversifying traffic sources and unlock AI insights with OmniSEO™ powered by WebFX or call us at to discuss how we can help you align AEO and SEO.
Grow Your Visibility Beyond Google
Capture leads and traffic from emerging searh platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI.
Writers
Grow Your Visibility Beyond Google
Capture leads and traffic from emerging searh platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI.