The short answer
What is AI SEO?
AI SEO is search optimization for AI answers. It combines classic SEO with answer engine optimization (AEO), which targets Google AI Overviews and featured snippets, and generative engine optimization (GEO), which gets a brand named inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude. Off-site mentions on PR sites, Reddit and Quora feed both.
What is included
The AI SEO retainer, every month.
Everything in the SEO package, with the AEO, GEO and off-site work on top.
- Everything in the SEO package
- AI citation baseline across five engines
- Monthly citation retest on your buying questions
- Answer-first rewrites of key pages
- FAQ blocks with FAQPage schema
- Full schema stack, written and validated
- llms.txt and AI crawler access
- Entity consistency across site and profiles
- Press releases every month
- Reddit, Quora and LinkedIn answers every month
- Trade directory and forum mentions
- Monthly report on citations, traffic, orders and inquiries
SEO vs AEO vs GEO
Three layers of search, one program.
These are not three separate services. Each one builds on the one before it, which is why AI SEO includes the full SEO package rather than replacing it.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in Google's results | Be the answer shown above the results | Be named inside AI-generated answers |
| Where you show up | Blue links, Shopping, local pack | AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude |
| What it reads | Pages, links, technical health | Direct answers, question headings, FAQ schema | Entities, citable facts, third-party mentions |
| Main work | Technical fixes, on-page, backlinks, blogs | Answer-first rewrites, structured data, tables | Schema stack, llms.txt, PR, Reddit, Quora, forums |
| Measured by | Rankings and organic traffic | Snippet and AI Overview ownership | Citation rate across real buying questions |
The AI SEO retainer covers all three columns. The SEO package on its own covers the first.
The two AI layers
Answers on Google, citations everywhere else.
AEO
Answer engine optimization
Pages restructured so Google lifts them into AI Overviews, featured snippets and People Also Ask: direct answers first, question headings, tables and FAQ schema.
GEO
Generative engine optimization
Your brand made easy for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude to identify, quote and verify, through entity signals, AI crawler access and citable facts.
D2C and B2B
Different buyers, different questions.
Consumers and procurement teams both ask AI tools before they buy. They ask very different things, so the work is planned around each.
D2C brands
Best, worth it, versus
Shoppers ask for the best product for a need, a budget or a gift, and whether a brand is worth trusting.
- "Best [product] under $100"
- "Is [brand] legit?"
- "[Product A] vs [product B] for [use]"
Measured on AI referral traffic and orders.
B2B companies
Shortlists, suppliers, alternatives
Buyers ask AI tools to shortlist suppliers, compare vendors and explain options before they contact sales.
- "Top [product] manufacturers in [country]"
- "Alternatives to [vendor]"
- "Which [material] for [application]"
Measured on qualified inquiries and RFQs.
Fit
Whether AI SEO is right for you.
A good fit
Brands like these
- D2C brands and B2B companies with a site that already works
- Categories where buyers research before they buy or shortlist
- Brands already doing SEO, or ready to start with it
- Founders and experts willing to be quoted
- Brands that can give it six months to compound
Probably not us
We would point you elsewhere
- Anyone wanting a guaranteed ChatGPT mention
- Fake reviews, bot accounts or Reddit spam
- Sites with crawl or indexing problems still open
- One-month campaigns
- Brands with nothing specific to say yet
Process
How the first six months run.
01
Baseline
Your buying questions run through five AI engines. Who gets named today becomes the baseline.
Week 1
02
Foundation
Technical fixes, crawler access, llms.txt, schema and entity work, so models can read and identify the brand.
Month 1
03
Answer-first pages
Key pages rewritten to lead with direct answers, question headings, tables and FAQs.
Month 1 to 2
04
Off-site
PR, Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn and directory work starts, aimed at the questions where competitors get named instead of you.
Month 2 onward
05
Retest
Same questions, same engines, every month. You see what moved and what did not.
Monthly
Questions
AI SEO questions.
What is the difference between SEO and AI SEO?
SEO gets your pages ranking in Google's results. AI SEO includes all of that, then adds the work that gets your brand quoted in AI answers: answer-first content, schema, llms.txt, and mentions on PR sites, Reddit, Quora and forums. You still need SEO, because AI engines lean on the same well-ranked pages.
Do I need AEO, GEO or both?
Most brands need both, in that order. AEO wins the answers Google shows above its own results, which usually means rewriting pages you already rank with. GEO gets you named inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude, which depends more on entity signals and third-party mentions. The AI SEO package runs both on top of full SEO.
Why do Reddit, Quora and PR matter for AI search?
AI engines lean on third-party sources when they recommend a brand. Reddit threads, Quora answers, press coverage, LinkedIn posts and trade publications are among the places they read most. A brand that only talks about itself on its own site is easy to skip. A brand other people mention is easier to trust and to name.
Does AI SEO work for B2B companies?
Yes, and B2B is often where it matters most. Buyers now ask AI tools to shortlist suppliers, compare vendors and explain options before they ever contact sales. We map those prompts, make your capabilities and proof easy to cite, build mentions in trade publications and on LinkedIn, and track the result as qualified inquiries.
How long does AI SEO take to show results?
Technical fixes like crawler access and schema can be picked up within weeks. Citations in ChatGPT and Perplexity usually take three to six months, because they depend on content being indexed and on off-site mentions building up. We set the baseline in week one, so progress is measured, not guessed.
How do you measure AI SEO results?
Three ways. A monthly citation test across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews on your real buying questions. AI referral traffic, and the orders or inquiries it brings. And the SEO numbers underneath: rankings and organic traffic. All of it is reported against the week-one baseline.
What is included in the AI SEO package?
Everything in our SEO package, plus answer engine optimization, generative engine optimization and an off-site program. That means answer-first rewrites, FAQ schema, entity and schema work, AI crawler access, llms.txt, PR, Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn and forum mentions, a monthly citation retest and a monthly report.
How much does AI SEO cost?
AI SEO retainers start at USD 2,500 a month on a rolling thirty day contract, depending on how many pages, markets and off-site placements the scope covers. The full SEO package is included. The AI citation audit comes first and is free, so you see where you stand before committing.
Further reading
From the guides.
SEO vs AEO vs GEO
What each one means and how they work together.
Answer engine optimization for ecommerce
Product schema, crawler access, entity signals and measurement.
AI Overviews and ecommerce traffic
The 2026 data and a six-step response.
Product data for AI shopping agents
How agents read your catalog before they recommend it.
Find out who ChatGPT names in your category.
Send your URL and three questions your buyers ask. We run them through five AI engines and send back who gets named, including when it is not you. The audit is free.