AI search systems are changing how people find information. While SEO optimizes content for search engines, AEO focuses on the way language models understand and reflect knowledge. In this article, we show how SEO and AEO differ — and why the two belong together in the future.
In the past, it was about being as high up as possible on Google. Today, systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or co-pilot questions directly — without classic search results. The result: Content must not only be discoverable, but also interpretable be.
Index search engines. <-> Learn language models.
For companies, this means that visibility no longer comes from keywords alone, but from context, structure and trustworthiness.
SEO remains the basis of digital visibility:
✓ Clean URL structure & navigation
✓ Mobile-first design & fast load times
✓ Clear content hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
✓ Content relevance & regular updates
New: These signals are also increasingly being evaluated by AI systems — as indicators of quality and trust.
Anyone who regularly publishes, shows expertise and properly identifies sources not only strengthens the Google ranking, but also the opportunity to be mentioned in generated answers.
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization — optimization for response systems such as ChatGPT or Gemini. The aim is to structure content in such a way that language models can understand, quote and use it as a reliable source.
An example:
When someone asks Perplexity: “Best B2B Marketing Automation Software in Germany”
AEO ensures that:
→ your software is called
→ is quoted with correct information,
→ and appears as a trustworthy source.
This is made possible by:
In short: AEO thinks ahead of SEO — towards semantic understanding instead of keyword matching.
Interim conclusion:
It is not about either/or, but to both and.
AI-based searches are rapidly gaining in importance. Millions of people are already using tools such as Perplexity or ChatGPT to research information — without opening Google.
Companies that tailor their content to AEO early on are gaining visibility in these new response systems. It's less about technical tricks, but about clarity, structure and trust — exactly the values that Google has been rewarding for years.
Update 2025: Webflow is also increasingly integrating AEO into its platform. With the new AI & SEO Features For the first time, the CMS supports content that is specifically optimized for AI search systems — for example through automatic structuring, meta-generation and AEO-compliant data formats. You can find more background information about this in the article “Webflow AI tools 2025”.
SEO and AEO aren't mutually exclusive — they complement each other.
Anyone who thinks in terms of structures today can make content visible to both systems at the same time.
This creates sustainable, AI-compatible visibility — a topic that we discuss in our AI visibility series Continuously deepen.
AEO is not a replacement for SEO, but the next stage of development. Anyone who clearly structures, clearly labels and continuously maintains content remains visible — whether via search engines or language models.
The central question is no longer:
“How do we rank? ” but: “How are we understood? ”
SEO optimized for search engines.
AEO optimized for language models.
Together, they ensure that your company is found — and quoted.
Do you want to know how visible your company really is in ChatGPT & Co.? With our 3-month AEO monitoring Let's track your visibility in all relevant AI systems — and show you concrete optimization approaches.
→ Find out more about our AEO pilot project
