Introduction
Something big has been ongoing in search engines. People are typing questions into ChatGPT instead of Google. They're asking Perplexity for recommendations. They're using Claude to research purchases. And if your business isn't showing up in those AI-generated answers, you're basically invisible to a growing chunk of potential customers.
The numbers tell the story. According to Frase, AI-referred sessions jumped 527% between January and May 2025. Gartner predicts that 25% of organic traffic will shift to AI chatbots by 2026. Meanwhile, 89% of B2B buyers now use AI platforms like ChatGPT for research.
This isn't some distant future scenario. It's happening right now. And it requires a completely different approach than traditional SEO.
At Wauu! Creative, we started to study this shift because it affects how we build websites and create content for our clients. The rules of the game have changed, so let me show you something I've learned.
Understanding the Shift from SEO to AEO and GEO
Traditional SEO focused on one thing: getting your website to rank high in search results so people would click through to your site. You optimized for keywords, built backlinks, and hoped to land on page one of Google.
To be honest, it's still going strong, and by no means you shouldn't still focus on building SEO content.
But now we have two new concepts you need to understand: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). HubSpot explains that "Answer Engine Optimization is the strategic practice of structuring your content so AI-powered systems can easily extract, understand, and present it as authoritative answers."
GEO takes this further. According to Profound's research, "Generative Engine Optimization is the natural evolution of SEO in the world of ChatGPT. GEO focuses on optimizing brand content for AI engines like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity."
The difference matters. SEO gets you traffic through clicks, but AEO and GEO get you visibility through citations and mentions, even when users never visit your website.
CXL reports that "the percentage of zero-click Google searches went from 56% in 2024 to 69% in 2025." People are getting answers without clicking anything. If you're not the source being cited, you're losing opportunities.
Here's the reality: when someone asks an AI about your industry, you want to be the expert it quotes. Not mentioned somewhere down the list. Not invisible. But right there in the answer. But this can be tricky!
How AI Search Actually Works
Before you can optimize for AI search engines, you need to understand how they find and use information.
Traditional search engines crawl websites, index pages, and rank them based on hundreds of factors. When you search, they show you a list of links ranked by relevance and authority.
AI search engines work differently. As Writesonic explains, "AI search works on intent, not keywords. It reads content, then grounds answers with sources. It leans on third-party citations, community threads, and trusted publications. It trusts what others say about you more than what you say about yourself."
Think about that last part. AI engines give more weight to third-party sources talking about you than to your own marketing content. A Reddit discussion about your product... A case study mentioning your service. These carry more authority in AI systems than your own website claims.
The technical process is called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). According to Profound, "AI engines rely on Retrieval-Augmented Generation, the process of augmenting a generative model with external documents retrieved in real time to produce more accurate answers."
This means when someone asks ChatGPT a question, it searches the web in real time, pulls relevant passages from multiple sources, synthesizes them into a coherent answer, and cites the most authoritative sources. Your goal is to be one of those cited sources.
Research from Frase shows that "ChatGPT cites Wikipedia 47.9% of the time when answering factual questions, followed by news sites and educational resources among its top sources." The pattern is clear: AI engines favor authoritative, well-structured information from trusted sources.
Create Content That AI Engines Want to Cite
The foundation of appearing in AI search is creating content that AI systems can easily understand and confidently cite.
HubSpot identifies three pillars for AEO success: "Build consensus, provide information gain, and use clear semantic structure so claims are easy to cite."
Let's try to break those down.
Answer questions directly. Start your content with clear, concise answers. SEO.com notes that AI engines look for "direct answers in 50-100 words." Don't bury your main point five paragraphs deep. Lead with it.
Structure for machine reading. AI systems parse your HTML looking for patterns. Green Flag Digital emphasizes that "schema markup, clear H2s, and FAQ formats tell models exactly what you're discussing and how concepts connect." Use proper heading hierarchy. Break content into scannable sections. Make it easy for both humans and machines to understand your content structure.
Back up claims with data. According to Frase, successful GEO content maintains "fact density with statistics every 150-200 words." AI engines trust content that includes specific numbers, research citations, and concrete evidence. Vague claims get ignored. Specific data gets cited.
Keep content fresh. Amsive's research reveals something crucial: "Most LLM citations occur within 2-3 days of publishing and can represent up to 2% of all citations in a niche. But this decays quickly, dropping to just 0.5% within 1-2 months." Freshness matters enormously. Update your content regularly to stay relevant in AI systems.
Implement Technical Optimization for AI Discovery
Content alone isn't enough. Your technical setup determines whether AI engines can even find and read your content.
Use schema markup. This is the single most important technical change you can make. OWDT explains that "schema markup, stable anchors, clean schema, and measurable AB workflows" help "your expertise is discoverable and attributable across AI Overviews and answer engines."
The most valuable schema types for AEO are
- FAQ schema
- HowTo schema
- Article schema
- Organization schema
These give AI engines structured data they can easily extract and cite. With Webflow, they use AI generative schema markup, which works really well. After the schema markup is generated, we usually copy the data and paste it into schema markup validator to find any errors. Most of the times Webflow's generated schema markups has no errors.
Ensure crawlability. SEO.com warns that "if it needs JavaScript to display, AI can't read it." Make sure your core content is available in HTML, not hidden behind JavaScript frameworks. AI crawlers need to see your content to cite it.
Optimize your URLs. According to Amsive, "Models like ChatGPT scan URL slugs to determine relevance. If multiple sources have URLs like /best-corporate-card, and yours is /best-corporate-credit-card-comparison-2025, the more specific and query-aligned slug is more likely to be cited."
Fix technical blockers. Check your robots.txt file. Make sure you're not accidentally blocking AI crawlers. Ensure fast page speed. Verify mobile optimization. These basic technical SEO factors still matter for AI discovery.
This is exactly the kind of technical work we handle in our Webflow development services, ensuring that sites are optimized for both human visitors and AI engines.
Build Authority Beyond Your Website
Here's where things get really different from traditional SEO. Your own website matters less than you think for AI visibility.
A Princeton University study found that "AI Search exhibit a systematic and overwhelming bias towards Earned media (third-party, authoritative sources) over Brand-owned content." Translation: AI engines trust what others say about you more than what you say about yourself.
This changes your strategy completely.
Get cited on authoritative sites. Work to get mentioned in industry publications, news sites, and established platforms in your field. Profound's data shows that "Bank of America leads banking mentions with 32.2% visibility across AI platforms" largely because they're consistently mentioned in major financial publications.
Engage in community discussions. Writesonic notes that AI engines "lean on third-party citations, community threads, and trusted publications." Platforms like Reddit, industry forums, and specialized communities carry surprising weight in AI training data.
Publish original research. According to Profound, "Publish original research, whitepapers, and expert commentary. Focus on creating unique, data-driven content that positions your brand as an industry authority." This is exactly the type of content AI engines preferentially cite.
Build consistent brand presence. Green Flag Digital explains that "Building consensus means reinforcing consistent facts, statistics, and positioning across all your owned and earned media. AI engines look for agreement across multiple credible sources before citing something as factual."
When we help clients with comprehensive branding and design projects, we're now thinking about these off-site signals as much as the website itself.
Why This Matters Now
Some people are treating AEO and GEO as optional add-ons to their existing SEO strategy. I think that's a mistake.
Acquia's survey found something revealing: "Only 68% of marketers believe their websites will evolve to serve as a source of structured data for AI platforms. This shows us that 32% of respondents are in danger of being left behind."
The brands getting this right now are building advantages that will compound over time. As Frase explains, "Early adoption of GEO practices creates authority signals that compound over time, building stronger positions in AI recommendation systems."
Think of it like this: in the early days of Google, the businesses that learned SEO first dominated their categories for years. The same thing is happening now with AI search. The brands establishing authority in AI training data and real-time search results are creating moats that will be expensive for competitors to cross later.
Amsive warns that "Companies that delay AEO implementation can face increasingly expensive catch-up requirements. Competitors are establishing authoritative positions in AI training data and real-time search results, making it harder and more costly for late adopters to gain meaningful visibility."
The window to establish yourself as an authoritative source in your industry is open right now. But it won't stay open forever.
The Bottom Line
Search is changing faster than most people realize. The traditional model of ranking for keywords and driving clicks is being replaced by a new model where AI engines synthesize information and cite sources.
The good news? The fundamentals haven't changed as much as the hype suggests. Strong content, technical excellence, and genuine authority still matter. You're just applying them in a new context.
The better news? Most of your competitors aren't doing this yet. According to Acquia's research, "marketers told us their biggest blockers are budget, expertise, and clarity on ROI." They're waiting. They're uncertain. They're not acting.
That's your opportunity.
At Wauu! Creative, after the redesign of our website, we started to focus more on AEO and GEO. We implemented all of the instructions discussed in this article. We're not waiting for this shift to fully happen in an instant, but it's better to start now than to regret later.
The brands that will dominate their categories five years from now are the ones optimizing for AI visibility today. The question isn't whether you should do this. It's whether you want to lead or follow.
Ready to make sure your business appears when people ask AI about your industry? Let's talk about building a strategy that works for both traditional search and AI-powered discovery.
