For years, businesses focused on showing up in the top 10 blue links in Google search results. While that's still important, a new shift is changing how consumers discover products, services, and brands online.
More people are turning to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity to research solutions, compare options, and make purchasing decisions.
Instead of scrolling through pages of search results, consumers are increasingly asking AI tools to do the research for them.
That raises an important question:
When someone asks AI for a recommendation in your industry, is your business part of the answer?
What is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization.
You may also hear it referred to as:
AI Optimization (AIO)
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
AI Search Optimization
While the terminology varies, the goal is the same:
Help AI-powered tools understand, trust, and recommend your business when users ask questions related to your products or services.
In simple terms, AEO is the process of developing a strategy of improving your website, its content, and its digital authority so AI assistants can accurately understand your business offerings and confidently reference it in their responses, hopefully leading to increased website traffic and leads for your business.
Why AEO matters
Consumer behavior is evolving quickly.
Traditionally, if someone wanted to find the best accountant, roofing company, dentist, or restaurant in their area, they would open Google and perform a search.
Now, many people are starting their research in tools like ChatGPT instead.
"Who are the best roofing contractors near me?"
"What accounting firms work with small businesses?"
"What should I look for when hiring a marketing agency?"
"Which HVAC companies have the best reputation?"
Instead of reviewing dozens of websites, consumers increasingly rely on the summary and recommendations generated by AI.
That means your online visibility is no longer determined solely by where you rank in Google. It's also influenced by how AI systems interpret and describe your business.
How AI decides which business to recommend
AI assistants do not simply pull information from one website.
They evaluate information from numerous sources across the internet to understand:
Who your business is
What services you provide
What expertise you demonstrate
Whether others trust your business
How you compare to competitors
Much like search engines, AI assistants aim to provide users with the most helpful and trustworthy recommendations available. However, their definition of "authority" doesn't always align with what business owners might expect.
For example, many AI platforms and Google AI Overviews frequently reference content from sources such as Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, review sites, business directories, and discussion forums. While these platforms often contain useful information, they aren't necessarily the most accurate or complete sources about your business.
That's why a major component of an AEO strategy is understanding what AI tools are learning from these third-party sources and how that information is shaping recommendations about your business.
Some of those conversations and mentions may be beyond your direct control. What you can control is the information published on your own website and across your digital presence. A clear brand position, accurate service descriptions, demonstrated expertise, strong reviews, and consistent messaging all help AI systems better understand who you are and what makes your business unique.
The goal of AEO isn't to manipulate AI tools. It's to ensure they're working with accurate, trustworthy information when they're deciding whether to recommend your business to potential customers.
What business owners should be paying attention to
Most businesses have little visibility into how AI platforms currently view their brand.
Questions worth asking include:
Are AI Tools Mentioning Your Business?
If prospective customers ask AI assistants for recommendations in your industry, does your business appear at all?
If not, your competitors may already be gaining an advantage in AI-driven discovery.
How Are You Being Described?
Being mentioned isn't always enough.
You also need to understand how AI tools characterize your services, expertise, and reputation.
Are they accurately representing your business?
Are they highlighting your strengths?
Or are they overlooking key differentiators?
What Information Is Influencing Those Recommendations?
AI systems rely on a variety of signals, including:
Website content
Customer reviews
Industry citations
Business listings
Media mentions
Third-party websites
Published expertise
Understanding which signals carry the most influence can help shape a more effective strategy.
Is AI traffic already reaching your website?
Many businesses are surprised to discover they're already receiving traffic and leads from AI tools.
As AI adoption grows, these referral sources are becoming increasingly important to monitor and understand.
At Oregon State University, I monitored website traffic as AI assistants became more widely used for research and discovery.
Over a relatively short period, AI-generated website traffic grew over 1,000% year over year, demonstrating a clear shift in how people gather information online.
While traditional search remains critically important, it's becoming increasingly clear that AI-assisted discovery is emerging as a meaningful source of website traffic and customer awareness.
The question for businesses is no longer whether AI influences customer decision-making.
The question is what AI tools are saying about your business and whether you're part of the conversation.
Is AEO different from SEO?
Yes and no. Many business owners assume AEO is a completely separate marketing discipline from SEO. In reality, the two are closely connected.
The same foundational factors that help a business rank well in Google often help it perform well in AI-generated recommendations.
These include:
Demonstrating expertise
Building authority
Earning trust
Creating valuable content
Maintaining technical website quality
Establishing a strong digital presence
The difference is that AEO also focuses on how AI systems discover, interpret, and synthesize information from across the web. Rather than optimizing solely for rankings, you're optimizing to become a trusted source that AI tools can confidently reference.
Signs your business may need an AEO strategy
You should consider investing in AEO if:
Your customers frequently research services online before buying
Competitors are actively creating educational content
AI tools are inaccurately describing your business and offerings
You're seeing growth in AI-referred website traffic
You want to future-proof your marketing strategy
You want to understand how AI tools currently describe your business
You want greater visibility in emerging AI search experiences
Businesses that begin adapting now will have a significant advantage as AI-driven discovery continues to grow.
The Desert Fox Digital approach to AEO
At Desert Fox Digital, AEO starts with visibility and measurement.
Before making recommendations, we first help you understand:
How much AI-assisted traffic is reaching your website
Which prompts and topics are driving that traffic
How AI tools currently describe your business
Where competitors may have stronger visibility
What content opportunities exist to expand your share of voice
From there, we develop a strategy designed to improve your presence across both traditional search engines and AI-powered discovery platforms.
The goal isn't simply to generate traffic.
The goal is ensuring your business is visible wherever customers are researching solutions, whether that's Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, or whatever comes next.
Final thoughts
AEO is not about chasing the latest marketing trend.
It's about recognizing that online discovery is evolving.
For years, businesses competed to appear on the first page of Google. Increasingly, they'll also compete to be included in the answers generated by AI assistants.
The businesses that succeed will be the ones that clearly demonstrate expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and value across the web.
Because when customers ask AI who they should trust, your business should be part of the answer.
