THE GUIDE
Why I Call AEO the Icing on the Cake
Why AEO isn't a replacement for SEO or your existing marketing efforts, but rather an extension of them.
TL;DR
- 01You don't need a completely new marketing strategy to become more visible in AI search tools like ChatGPT or Gemini.
- 02AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the icing. Your existing digital foundation, including SEO, clear messaging, and credibility, is the cake. Both matter, but they work best together.
- 03Before investing in new AEO services, try the 5-Minute Foundation Audit below to see whether your core digital presence is doing its job.
Everywhere you look, someone's talking about AI search. New acronyms, new tools, new services, and plenty of advice about what your business needs to do differently.
There's AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AI SEO, and a growing list of other terms. Along with them come promises of helping your business show up in ChatGPT, Google's AI-generated answers, and other AI-powered platforms.
But if you're a business owner or consultant trying to decide where to invest your marketing budget, all of this can leave you wondering:
Do I really need to be doing something different for AI search? And if so, where should I start?
My answer is that AI search visibility absolutely deserves your attention. But I also believe we're making it more complicated than it needs to be.
I like to think of AEO as the icing on the cake.
The cake is everything you've been building to make your business easy to find, understand, and trust online. The icing is the additional work that helps AI-powered platforms recognize and accurately represent your business.
And while the icing matters, it works best when there's a solid cake underneath it.
THE FOUNDATION
You Can't Skip the Cake
One of the biggest misconceptions I see around AI search is that businesses need an entirely new marketing strategy to become visible on platforms like ChatGPT or Gemini.
The reality is that much of what supports AI visibility overlaps with what has always made a business easier to discover online.
In fact, Google's own guidance on optimizing for generative AI search reinforces this connection. Google explains that its AI search features rely on existing search ranking and quality systems, and that established SEO practices remain important.
That doesn't mean traditional SEO and AEO are exactly the same, or that every AI platform works like Google. But it does mean that many of the things you've already been working on still matter.
When I think about building a strong digital presence, I generally look at four areas.
01 · CLARITY
Is it obvious what your business does and who it helps?
This sounds simple, but it's something I see businesses struggle with all the time.
Your website might explain your philosophy, tell your story, and describe your experience. But can someone visiting for the first time quickly understand what services you offer, who they're for, and what makes your approach different?
That clarity matters for potential customers, and it also gives search engines and AI tools more useful information to work with.
02 · FINDABILITY
Can people discover you when they're looking for what you offer?
Having a beautiful website doesn't do much good if potential customers can't find it.
Your service pages, website structure, and content should help connect your business with the questions and searches your ideal customers are making.
For local businesses, that may also include maintaining an accurate Google Business Profile and developing relevant location-specific content.
03 · CREDIBILITY
Is there evidence beyond your own website that supports your expertise?
It's one thing to say you're experienced or trustworthy. It's another for people to find evidence of that elsewhere.
Customer reviews, industry features, professional profiles, speaking engagements, and mentions from reputable websites all contribute to how people evaluate your business.
These sources can also provide useful context when AI tools gather information about a company.
This is one reason I continue to encourage business owners to maintain a consistent presence on platforms like LinkedIn, even when those activities aren't generating immediate leads.
04 · ACCESSIBILITY
Can search engines and AI tools actually understand your website?
Finally, there's the technical side.
Your website needs to be accessible to the systems trying to find and interpret its content.
That includes making important information available as readable text, organizing pages logically, and addressing technical problems that prevent search engines from accessing your content.
You don't need to understand every technical detail. But you do want to make sure your website isn't unintentionally making it difficult for these platforms to understand your business.
Together, these four areas form the cake.
And the good news is that improving them can benefit your business well beyond AI search.
THE ICING
But the Icing Still Matters
Now, here's where things get interesting.
Just because your website is well-optimized for traditional search doesn't automatically mean AI platforms will describe your business accurately or recommend it when someone is looking for your services.
We're seeing some important changes in how information appears in search results.
For example, research published by Ahrefs in October 2026 found that Google's AI Overviews appeared in approximately 83% of the U.S. desktop search results it analyzed for branded keywords on September 29.
83%
of U.S. desktop search results for branded keywords showed a Google AI Overview.
Source: Ahrefs, October 2026 (data from September 29)
Think about what that means.
Someone searching for your business by name may encounter an AI-generated summary before they ever visit your website.
And that summary may draw information from sources beyond your website, including professional profiles, videos, third-party articles, and other publicly available content.
This creates an interesting challenge for business owners.
You can have a strong traditional SEO foundation and still have opportunities to improve how your business is represented in AI-generated answers.
That's where AEO comes in.
Answer Engine Optimization focuses on helping AI-powered search experiences find, interpret, and accurately communicate information about your business.
Sometimes that means improving content you already have rather than creating something new.
For example, you might need to:
- Make your service descriptions more specific so it's clear who you help and what you offer. Instead of saying "We offer business consulting," you might explain, "We help Seattle-based SaaS companies scale their sales teams."
- Answer common customer questions directly on relevant pages rather than making visitors dig for the information.
- Make sure your business information is consistent across your website and professional profiles.
- Strengthen important pages with examples, firsthand experience, and supporting evidence.
- Identify gaps between how you describe your business and how AI platforms currently represent it.
Notice that none of these activities requires abandoning traditional SEO.
In many cases, they strengthen the same foundation.
And that's really the point.
AEO shouldn't be treated as a completely separate marketing initiative. It should be part of a connected visibility strategy.
TRY THIS
The 5-Minute Foundation Audit
There's a lot of excitement around AI search right now, and understandably so. It's changing how people discover information, research companies, and evaluate their options.
But that doesn't mean every business needs to immediately invest in a dedicated AEO service.
Before deciding where to spend your time and money, I'd encourage you to spend five minutes looking at your existing digital presence.
You don't need any special software or SEO expertise to get started.
STEP 1
Check your findability.
Open Google and search for one of your primary services along with your city or industry. Do you see your business anywhere in the results?
STEP 2
Check your clarity.
Visit your homepage and read the first few paragraphs. If someone knew nothing about your business, could they quickly understand what you do, who you help, and why they might choose you?
STEP 3
Check your consistency.
Compare your website with your LinkedIn profile or Google Business Profile. Are your services, descriptions, and business information aligned?
STEP 4
Check your credibility.
Google your business name. What shows up beyond your own website? Are there reviews, professional profiles, industry mentions, or other sources that reinforce your expertise?
STEP 5
Check your accessibility.
Open one of your most important service pages. Is the information clearly written and visible on the page, or is it buried in images, videos, or interactive elements that may be harder for search tools to interpret?
This isn't a comprehensive SEO or AEO audit, but it's a useful starting point.
If several of these checks reveal gaps, that's probably where I'd recommend focusing first.
Not because AI search isn't important, but because addressing those issues can strengthen how your business appears across traditional and AI-powered search.
On the other hand, if you already have a strong foundation, it may be time to take a closer look at how AI platforms describe and recommend your business.
Are they describing your services accurately? Do they understand who your business serves? Are there relevant customer questions where your business could reasonably be recommended but isn't appearing?
Keep in mind that AI-generated answers can vary from one search to the next, so a single response isn't a reliable measure of your overall visibility. Look for patterns across several relevant questions rather than treating any one result as definitive.
Those findings can help you identify where more targeted AEO work might make sense.
And importantly, you don't have to wait until your SEO is perfect to start thinking about AI visibility.
Many improvements can happen together, especially when you're already updating your website, refining your messaging, or developing new content.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Goal Isn't More Marketing. It's a More Connected Digital Presence.
I think one of the biggest challenges with digital marketing today is that every new platform or technology can feel like another thing business owners need to add to their to-do lists.
First it was SEO. Then social media, blogging, video, and now AI search.
It's exhausting, especially when you're already running a business.
But I don't believe the answer is to keep building separate strategies for every new place your customers might discover you.
Instead, I encourage businesses to think about how all these pieces work together.
Your website explains what you do. Your content demonstrates your knowledge. Your professional profiles reinforce your expertise. Your reviews and third-party mentions help establish credibility.
Together, they create a more complete, consistent picture of your business for both potential customers and the systems helping them make decisions.
That's the foundation worth investing in.
Because ultimately, the goal isn't just to appear in an AI-generated answer or rank for a particular keyword.
It's to make your business easier to find, easier to understand, and easier to trust, wherever your next customer happens to be looking.
So yes, I believe the icing matters.
Just make sure you're giving the cake the attention it deserves.
NEXT STEP
Not sure where your business stands?
If you're wondering whether it's time to invest in AI search optimization or focus on strengthening your existing digital presence, I'd love to help you figure out where to start.
Schedule a conversationSOURCES AND FURTHER READING