From SEO to AEO: survival guide for brands in the age of AI

Approximately three weeks ago, Google’s new AI Mode hatched in Spain and with it a new era also began in terms of digital visibility. The loud entry on the scene of Google’s new AI Mode means that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will no longer dictate the visibility of brands on the Internet and that this discipline will sooner rather than later hand over the baton to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).

This is by no means a trivial change if we take into account that SEO has been the basis on which digital visibility is anchored for more than two decades. And in this sense, brands that managed to place content in search engines based on certain “keywords”, kept the content of their website conveniently updated and adhered to certain technical standards, were anointed with the desired visibility on the social media network. This era is, however, about to come to an end.

In the new AI Mode just released by Google The internet giant does not limit itself to analyzing “keywords” and also places trust under the magnifying glass to determine which brands are truly credible, relevant and consistent.. According to the new logic behind searches in Google’s AI Mode, only those truly trustworthy brands are worthy of making their way into the famous search engine. Authority, credibility, and relevance ultimately determine which brands are or are not visible in Google’s new AI Mode.

The visibility of brands on Google will be at the mercy of trust in the future

Since visibility is strongly dependent on trust, Reputation (and not so much optimization) is absolutely decisive in making your way into the answers put on the table by Google’s AI Mode.

In the era of AI-powered searches, each and every signal that points toward trust in a particular brand ultimately influences its visibility. A positive review, a specialized article or a mention in the press has more impact than a perfectly optimized text. In AI Mode, Google ultimately evaluates brands based on the EEAT principle: “expertise”, experience, authority and “trustworthiness”.

Brands must, therefore, show off their expertise, their experience, their authority and trust to be taken into consideration by Google and its algorithms. And that means that quality is not always synonymous with visibility on the internet. The recommendations made by Google AI Mode are made based on public information of a verifiable nature. Consequently, and if it is not adequately supported by positive mentions, by structured data and by evidence of presence in the media, a brand virtually does not exist in the eyes of AI.

Google AI Mode does not provide search results but rather direct answers to queries posed by the user. And such answers take root in sources Google trusts.

For brands, the challenge is no longer to position themselves in the first search results but to be relevant enough to sneak into the answers provided by Google’s AI Mode.. While the ultimate objective of SEO was visibility, AEO seeks for brands to be recommended by AI and, therefore, make a place for themselves in its responses. In this new context, it is no longer crucial whether or not brands can be found in the depths of the network of networks, but rather whether they can make trustworthy responses available to AI.

The lighthouse by which the AEO is guided is, therefore, a solid online reputation and the foundations on which that online reputation is built are reviews, journalistic articles, content published on social networks and specialized content. It is these factors and not others that have the greatest impact on the visibility of brands in AI searches.

From visibility to credibility: the paradigm shift advocated by Google’s AI Mode

To be visible in the era of AI searches, brands must necessarily take three measures:

1. Take action on digital trust

It is necessary to analyze in detail What information about the brand is swarming on the Internet? and how the brand in question can ultimately be opened in reviews, mentions and articles on the Internet of networks. Only those brands that know exactly the footprints they have previously left on the Internet will be able to actively influence these footprints and use them for their own benefit.

2. Build a consistent reputation

Trust is strongly anchored in evidence and This evidence takes the form of specialized articles, interviews, mentions on sector websites and positive consumer reviews. The key is that all these trust signals paint the same picture from the point of view of competence, reliability and authenticity.

3. Work on monitoring and optimization from the AEO point of view

Reputation is not static and is therefore at the mercy of dynamic factors.. In this sense, brands must regularly monitor their presence in AI systems. And so that their presence there is not subject to constant ups and downs and is governed as much as possible by stability, brands must rely on structured data, updated content and consistent communication.

In AI-powered searches, the lines between marketing, public relations and SEO are becoming increasingly blurred and brands must produce content that is simultaneously understood by flesh-and-blood humans and machines and that fosters trust on two levels: on an emotional level and on an algorithmic level.

Even though the trust that constitutes the main raw material in the results emanating from AI is eminently human, it nevertheless becomes perfectly measurable based on reviews, specialized articles or mentions on social networks. AND It is those brands that consistently work on their online reputation that have the best chance of breaking through in the answers provided by AI.

In the universe of searches, AI is much more than a technological innovation and is the herald of a profound cultural change based on which the objective is no longer to be visible but to be credible in the network of networks.. In the age of AI, visibility does not emerge from the belly of technology but from trust. And the most visible brands on the internet will not be the loudest but the most credible.