AEO: Another Three-Letter Acronym Vying for Your Marketing Budget

Just when you thought you’d slurped the last spoonful of marketing’s alphabet soup, another acronym—AEO—floats to the surface. Another Empty Offering? An Essential Opportunity?

Actually, it’s Answer Engine Optimization. A new article in Business Insider declares that AEO is “replacing SEO” as AI chatbots like ChatGPT become the new front door to online discovery. The headline even says “Forget SEO.” According to the article, about 30 AEO product launches have burst onto the scene in recent months, each promising to help your business appear prominently when someone asks an AI about your industry.

The world loves all things shiny and new. But don’t start rewriting your budget or calling emergency meetings just yet.

What Is AEO?

Simply put, AEO focuses on getting your content featured in AI chatbot responses. Traditional SEO targets specific keywords, but AEO aims to answer a cluster of related questions.

For instance, instead of optimizing a page for “project management software,” an AEO approach creates content addressing dozens of variations like “What’s the best project management tool for remote teams?” or “Which project management platforms support API integration?”

Sound familiar? AEO is more like a rebrand of what effective content creators have been doing all along.

The fundamentals haven’t changed. Creating meaningful content that genuinely helps your audience remains the cornerstone of effective digital marketing, whether that content appears in Google search results or in ChatGPT’s responses.

Already Working with Us? No Worries

If you’ve been working with us, you’re already positioned for this so-called shift:

You’re creating content with depth: We’ve never advocated for thin, keyword-stuffed pages. Content that thoroughly addresses your audience’s questions has always been our north star.
You’re thinking beyond keywords: Our content approach has always centered around topics and questions rather than isolated keywords.
You’re building actual expertise: By consistently demonstrating knowledge and providing valuable insights, you’re establishing the credibility that both Google and AI models recognize.
You’re creating for humans first: When you focus on helping people understand who you are and how you can help them, the algorithms (and now AI models) tend to follow.

QUOTE: “Write for humans first. If we can do it in a way that Google likes, great. If not, default to the reader.”—Jim Cota, Rare Bird

In other words, we don’t need to change our approach. We’ve been ahead of this new change for years. If you don’t currently work with us, reach out and we’ll get you where you need to be.

AI Unpredictability—Like a Tipsy Google

One fascinating (and frustrating) aspect of AI search is the persistent element of randomness. Ask the same question 100 times and the results vary with each query.

“What’s the best support ticketing software?” is the example in the Business Insider article. One company appeared in 94% of answers—but in different positions—while its competitors appeared less frequently, but also in different spots each time.

This means AI search is like a slightly tipsy Google that can’t quite remember which result should be first—but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for smaller businesses that might not dominate the #1 position in Google. It means they could show up, albeit randomly, in the first spot when discovered through AI interfaces.

An Explosion of AEO Startups

This reminds us of SEO’s early days, when countless tools promised to game the system for better rankings. Many businesses poured resources into these shortcuts, only to watch their rankings plummet when Google inevitably updated its algorithms.

The pattern feels eerily familiar. Whenever a new technology rises, an industry of consultants and tools follows—all promising to help you “win” at something that hasn’t even settled into its final form.

But it also means brands might need to focus less on traditional SEO tactics and more on creating the kind of authoritative content that AI systems and Google both recognize as valuable.

While we expect to start using “AEO” in conversations—staying current with industry terminology is part of our job—our overall approach isn’t changing. We’ll still focus on these :

Create content that thoroughly answers your audience’s questions
Organize information logically and accessibly
Demonstrate genuine expertise rather than pretending to have it
Focus on providing real value rather than tricking algorithms

So What Should You Do?

If you’re already working with us, the answer is simple: Let’s keep doing what you’re doing. Our content strategies have always focused on creating valuable content that addresses your audience’s needs—which is exactly what AI systems are designed to surface.

That said, a few tactical considerations might be worth exploring as this landscape evolves:

Structure with intention: Clear headings, concise paragraphs, and logical organization help both humans and AI understand what you’re saying.
Answer questions directly: Identify what your audience is actually asking and provide clear, helpful answers.
Demonstrate your expertise, don’t just claim it: Surface your unique insights rather than making empty authority claims.
Keep content fresh: Outdated information is the digital equivalent of expired milk—nobody wants it.

We’re watching the development of AEO with interest, but we’re not overhauling our fundamental approach to content creation.

The answer is refreshingly simple: create genuinely valuable content that helps your audience, and both search engines and AI systems will take notice. It’s what we’ve believed since we started, and it’s proven effective through every algorithm update, platform shift, and technological revolution.

In marketing, as in life, the fundamentals always stay relevant.

Ready for content that resonates with both humans and machines? Let’s talk about how Rare Bird can help your business prepare for takeoff.

Let’s Talk

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