Someone searches "[your service] near me" and picks from a map or a list.
That is still overwhelmingly a Google Business Profile and local search job today.
Start with SEO
GuideAEO vs SEO:
AEO vs SEO:
what the data shows.
SEO gets your page ranked in a list of links. AEO gets your business named inside an AI answer. They share a foundation and pick different winners: only 12% of the pages AI tools link to also rank in Google's top 10 for the same question.
15,000 searches studiedEvery number sourcedUpdated October 2026
The 12% problem
In August 2025, Ahrefs analyzed 15,000 search queries to measure something nobody had: how often the pages ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot link to in an answer are the same pages ranking on page one of Google for that question.
The overlap was 12%. About 80% of the pages these AI tools used didn't appear anywhere in Google's top 100.
If your whole plan has been "rank higher and the rest follows," this number is the reason to rethink it. Ranking first doesn't put you in the answer when someone asks an AI the same question.
Shared ground
Where they agree
Under both sits the same foundation, and neither works when it's broken. That's why the serious studies land in the same place: AEO gets built on top of SEO, not instead of it.
A crawlable site
Search engines and AI crawlers both have to reach and read your pages first.
Clear, checkable claims
Content that states something specific gives either system something to use.
Structured data
Markup that tells a machine what a page is about.
A track record
A history that gives any system, human or AI, a reason to trust the source.
Side by side
Where they split
Five differences that change what you work on and how you know it worked.
SEOAEOWhat you're working towardA ranked position on a results pageBeing the source an AI uses to write its answerThe unit that winsThe pageThe specific claim or paragraph a model can quoteHow you measure itRank, clicks and trafficAI mentions and share of voice, often with no referrer at allWhere results come fromOne index and one set of ranking systems you can studySeveral systems that don't agree with each otherHow settled it isMature and well documented. Changes are incrementalStill being rebuilt. Each engine keeps changing how it finds sources
Your business
Which one matters more for you
It depends on how your customers decide to hire you, not on which acronym is newer.
Someone compares options, or asks an AI to recommend one.
AEO decides if you make the shortlist, sometimes before anyone opens a search engine.
Start with AI VisibilityMost businesses live in both moments at different points of the same customer's decision. Putting the whole budget in one camp is the usual mistake.
The trend
The part that's moving fast
770.7M
Referral visits AI platforms sent to websites each month worldwide, on average, between June 2025 and May 2026.
Similarweb, 2026 Generative AI Landscape117%
Growth in those AI referral visits compared with the year before.
Similarweb, 2026 Generative AI Landscape4.4x
How much better AI-referred visitors converted than organic search visitors in one Semrush study. Semrush calls it a signal from a single topic-level study, not a fixed multiplier.
Semrush, July 2025AI referrals are still a small slice of web traffic. They are growing fast enough that an SEO-only plan misses them.
See both scoreboards for your business
We'll show you where you rank on Google and whether AI tools name you at all, side by side.
AEO vs SEO questions
Something we didn't cover? Ask us
Do I have to choose between SEO and AEO?
No. Almost every business needs both, in a mix that depends on how customers find it today. They share the same foundation, so work on one supports the other.
If I rank #1 on Google, will AI tools mention me too?
Not automatically. In the Ahrefs study, only 12% of the pages AI tools linked to also ranked in Google's top 10 for the same question. Ranking well is necessary groundwork, not a guarantee.
Does working on AEO hurt my SEO?
No. They share the same foundation, and work done well for one strengthens the other. The AEO-specific parts, like answer-first content, are additions on top, not trade-offs.
How do I know if my customers use AI to find businesses like mine?
Check whether AI tools mention you today for the questions your customers would ask. That is what our weekly Answer Check tracking does.
If I can only do one thing first, what should it be?
Fix the shared foundation: a fast, crawlable site with correct business information everywhere it appears. Neither SEO nor AEO works without it. After that, put the effort where your customers decide: local search if they pick from a map, AI answers if they research first.
Want to know where you stand in both?
Send us your website. Within 24 hours we'll show you where you rank on Google and whether AI tools name you.
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