If you have been around the marketing space lately you have probably felt that weird and unsettling shift in the atmosphere. For a long time Search Engine Optimization felt like a big game of cat and mouse. We thought a lot about how many times to use words on a page. We also tried hard to get other websites to link back to ours because these links were very valuable to us. We were like people praying to the Google, just so we could get a bit of traffic on the first page of Search Engine Optimization results. Search Engine Optimization was a deal, to us. But now come the era of Generative Engine Optimization and Answer Engine Optimization.
But let us be real for a second. As we move through 2026 that old game is much dead. The era of the ten links is not just dying the ten blue links are basically in the rearview mirror, at this point.
Look at the way you search for things. Most people do not want to do a lot of work to find what they are looking for. They just want an answer. They wanted it a little while ago. People are using ChatGPT to plan birthday parties for their kids talking to their car dashboards while they are stuck in traffic and reading summaries that were written by intelligence while they are making coffee. If you want your brand to still be seen by people, in this world you have to understand two new things: GEO and AEO.
The Sudden Rise of the Answer Engine Optimization
Let us pull back the curtain on Answer Engine Optimization. I like to describe Answer Engine Optimization as the art of making your content so clear that an artificial intelligence, like Alexa or Siri or those Google AI Overviews can understand Answer Engine Optimization and provide a reply. Answer Engine Optimization is really, about making things easy for these artificial intelligences to grasp.
Back in the day Search Engine Optimization was about getting people to click on your website. If people did not land on your website, you lost.. Now with Search Engine Optimization, winning actually means that Search Engine Optimization is the one being read out loud by a computer. This is a bit weird right? This matters because people are doing something called “Zero-Click Searches” all the time now. If your website does not give an clear answer that a computer program can find quickly, then your website is basically invisible.
Search Engine Optimization is really important, for this. AEO is not something you do on the side. It is the way to survive the changes that are happening with Search Engine Optimization. The way Search Engine Optimization is evolving, you need AEO to keep up.
Generative Engine Optimization: Basically Digital PR for Robots
AEO is good for the facts that people need to know.. Generative Engine Optimization is where things get really interesting. This is where your reputation matters to Large Language Models. I think of Generative Engine Optimization as a way to manage what people think of you. Instead of dealing with reporters, you are dealing with Artificial Intelligence. Generative Engine Optimization is like level public relations but, for machines.
Think about this: someone asks an intelligence “Which Digital Marketing freelancer should I hire for a startup when I do not have a lot of money?” The artificial intelligence is not looking for a word that you used many times. It is looking for a proof that the freelancer’s good at what they do. The artificial intelligence is looking for things like people talking about the freelancer on Reddit, people mentioning the freelancer in groups on Discord and signs that the freelancer is an authority in their field. To be successful with this, a freelancer has to be someone that people think is worth talking about.
The Digital Marketing freelancer has to be someone that people think is worth citing, which means the freelancer has to be citation-worthy and that is what the artificial intelligence is looking for in a freelancer for a startup, on a budget. You need a history that shows you are a person and you need to give us something new which we call “Information Gain”. This is a big phrase that means you should not keep saying the same things that everyone else is saying. You should have your thoughts and ideas about Information Gain. It is important because it helps us see that you are a person, with your own thoughts and not just someone who repeats what others say.
Playing the “Invisible Influence” Game
One thing I have noticed while working on portfolios this year is that the big players are doing something I like to call “The Invisible Influence”. They are not just writing for Google anymore. The big players are putting information in the places where artificial intelligence models go to learn. The big players are playing this game of “The Invisible Influence”. It is interesting to see how it works.
You have to get involved in online communities, share new information that others will want to reference and make sure people think of you when they think of a particular issue. It is not about making your website work well with search engines anymore. It is about becoming someone that people trust and want to learn from. If machines like GPT-5 or Claude see that you are helpful, in a few places they will suggest you to others.
SEO is still very important. It just have to be user friendly and the contents of website needs to be in the minds of the people.Do not throw away your search engine optimization checklist. These traditional methods are like the pipes in your house. If your website takes a time to load, like ten seconds or If it looks really bad on a phone, the artificial intelligence crawlers will ignore your website. You do not see the pipes. If they get damaged your whole house will be in a bad state.
Your search engine optimization checklist is important like the pipes in your house because if something goes wrong with your website, like it loading slowly or not looking good on a phone the artificial intelligence crawlers will not visit your website.
You have to think about your plan now. I tell my clients that every single post they make has to have an answer right away. They should give an answer in about 50 words at the very top.
There should be no words and no introduction that says “welcome to my detailed explanation”. Just the answer.
This makes it very easy for a computer program that looks for answers to see that you are an expert.
You should definitely use Schema Markup. It is like a guide that helps the computer understand what you are selling.Also because it helps the computer program know what your post is, about. Every single post should have Schema Markup so the computer can understand what you are trying to say about your product or service.
The 2026 Irony: Being a Human is Your Only Edge
Here is the part that makes me laugh: to rank well in an Artificial Intelligence driven world you actually have to sound like an Artificial Intelligence machine. Artificial Intelligence detectors are getting really good at spotting that perfect corporate fluff. Humans on the other hand are desperate, for something that is real, something that is genuine, something that comes from Artificial Intelligence. Users who sound like humans and not like an Artificial Intelligence.
When I am building a strategy, I do not just put the word SEO everywhere. I tell a story about the client who almost lost everything because they did not change from 2018 and how changing to GEO helped the client. I talk about my mistakes with SEO. I share what happened when I used SEO in the way. The word SEO is important, to me. I use it when I am talking about SEO and how it can help people.
These human signals, like the opinions and the personal rants and the actual experience of being there are what Generative Engines are looking for to prove E-E-A-T(Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness). They want the human signals, the real life experiences to make sure that the information is trustworthy. The human signals, with all the opinions and personal rants are important, for Generative Engines to prove E-E-A-T.
You can change your headers to be like questions before you eat lunch. You can add a file to your website later today. Tonight you can start making a “Citation Loop” by sharing some of your interesting ideas on LinkedIn. The main idea of the “Citation Loop” is not to have a lot of information but to be a person who is talking to others. The “Citation Loop” is, about being part of a conversation.
By mastering AEO and GEO, you aren’t just fixing your Search Engine Optimization—you’re making sure that when the AI of the future opens its mouth, it’s using your expertise to answer the question.