SEO vs AEO – Which is more important for the future of search?

[mahin24]

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the shift from traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), especially with the rise of AI assistants and featured snippets.

SEO focuses heavily on rankings, backlinks, and keyword optimization.

AEO is all about structuring content so that it directly answers user intent, making it easier for answer engines like Google Assistant, ChatGPT, or Alexa to pull from it.

Has anyone here actively shifted their content strategy to prioritize AEO over SEO? If so, have you seen noticeable changes in traffic or visibility? Or is AEO just a buzzword right now with limited practical benefit compared to solid SEO fundamentals?

[Dani]

It has to do with the type of website that is trying to gain traffic. However, for the most part, content sites are pretty frustrated that AI bots are scraping all of their content and then using it to directly answer a searcher's question, without the searcher ever having to visit the website. This is especially tough on content-based websites with high quality, well-researched content that generate revenue through advertising. Money and effort was put into creating the content and it's being served up to searchers for free.

However, for many of these content-based websites, DaniWeb included, we're in a Catch-22 because we still want to rank by search engines, especially sites whose business models rely on almost all traffic being driven from search. In order to appear in Google's search results, we are required to allow Googlebot to scrape all of our content and use it for its AI engine.

[harrymr672]

SEO is still the foundation, but AEO is becoming more important as search shifts toward AI, voice, and quick answers. The best approach? Use SEO to get found, and AEO to get featured. You need both to stay future-ready.

[graceweb]

It's interesting to see how content needs to be structured to meet direct user intent, which can help in capturing those featured snippets. It feels like a dual strategy might be the best way forward—optimizing for traditional search while also ensuring content is easily digestible for answer engines.

[pearly_2]

As a company operating in the building materials and roofing space, <Promotional plug removed by moderator> has been closely watching the evolution from traditional SEO to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), especially with the increasing reliance on AI-powered assistants and zero-click searches.

We haven’t abandoned SEO fundamentals — they’re still essential for long-term performance. However, we've definitely started integrating AEO strategies into our content planning. Here’s how:

We structure our content around specific questions that homeowners, contractors, and building professionals are likely to ask — especially related to roofing choices, sustainability, and material performance. For example:
“What type of roof lasts the longest in a cold climate?”
“Is metal roofing more sustainable than asphalt?”

We use schema markup and FAQs on our product pages and blog articles to help search engines (and AI tools) better understand the context and deliver clear, actionable answers.

We simplify our language and prioritize clarity. Unlike traditional blog posts overloaded with keywords, our newer content goes straight to the point — the kind of structure answer engines prefer.

We’re optimizing for local and voice search by integrating natural-sounding queries like “best roofing company Oakville” or “trusted Oakville roofers for metal roofing.”

Has it made a difference? While it’s still early, we’re noticing improved visibility in featured snippets and local search results — especially for questions related to residential roofing Oakville, commercial roofing Oakville, and sustainable construction trends.

We view AEO as a natural evolution of SEO, not a replacement. As more people turn to AI tools like Google Assistant or ChatGPT for fast, reliable answers, this dual strategy helps us stay relevant and accessible to both humans and machines.

[Umair_20]

Yes, I've started shifting some of my content strategy toward AEO, and the results have been promising-especially in terms of capturing featured snippets and improving voice search visibility. While SEO fundamentals like backlinks and keyword structure still matter, AEO helps align content with user intent more directly. It's definitely not just a buzzword-it complements SEO by making your content more accessible to Al-driven tools like Google Assistant and ChatGPT.

[rproffitt]

For laughs, see AI/ML get it all wrong at https://imgur.com/gallery/XiWSgjR

Google and Meta search both report that Cape Breton Island has its own time zone 12 minutes ahead of mainland Nova Scotia time because they are both drawing that information from a Beaverton article I wrote in 2024

There are many more examples where AI again and again proves itself to be untrustworthy. While the shop and I use such I won't trust it with finances, medical and other areas. But hey, maybe you'll take that cod liver oil and vitamins answer?