The short version
SEO is the work of showing up in Google's results: the map pack and the list of links below it. AEO, answer engine optimization, is the work of being the answer when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Overview instead. You will also see it called GEO, generative engine optimization. For a local business they mean the same thing.
The good news is that most of the work is shared. A business that does local SEO well already has most of what AI needs. The differences are in emphasis.
What is the same
- A website that says clearly what you do and where.
- A complete, active Google Business Profile.
- Plenty of real reviews.
- The same name, address and phone number everywhere you are listed.
- A fast site that works on a phone and does not block search engines.
Google's AI Overviews are built on top of Google's own search index, so the SEO work feeds them directly. ChatGPT runs its own web searches, and the pages and listings it finds are mostly the same ones that make a business strong on Google.
What is different
| SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| The goal | Rank high enough that people click | Be one of the one or two names in the answer |
| What wins | Relevance, distance, reviews and links | Clear facts that many sources agree on |
| Your website | Pages built around searches | Pages that answer questions in plain sentences |
| Other sites | Links help you rank | Mentions help AI trust you, even without a link |
| How you measure it | Search Console clicks and rankings | Asking the AI and saving the answers |
The biggest practical difference is consistency. Google can work around a stray old phone number. An AI reading ten sources at once is more likely to hesitate when they disagree.
What to do first
If you only have a few hours, spend them in this order:
- Your Google Business Profile. Correct categories, services, hours, photos and a reply to every review. It feeds Google Maps, Google's AI and many other tools.
- Your homepage facts. One plain paragraph: what you do, the towns you serve, how long you have been in business, your phone number.
- Your listings. Make them match. Claim the ones you never claimed.
- Your reviews. Ask every happy customer, and ask them to mention the job and the town.
- Answer pages. A page for each service, answering the questions customers ask on the phone: cost, timing, what is included, which towns.
That list is local SEO and AEO at the same time. That is the point.
Be careful with "AEO only" offers
Some agencies now sell AI visibility as a separate product, at a separate price, without touching your Business Profile, your listings or your site. Without those basics there is very little for AI to work with. If someone offers AEO, ask what they will change on your site and your profiles, and how they will show you the answers before and after.