Search Is Changing
SEO & AEO in 2026: how businesses need to optimise for Google and AI search
For years, businesses competed primarily for one thing: Google rankings. In 2026, that is no longer the whole picture.
Customers are still searching on Google, but they are also asking questions through AI-powered search experiences and answer engines. They want recommendations, comparisons, summaries and direct answers — often without following the traditional search journey of typing a keyword and scrolling through ten blue links.
This is where SEO and AEO need to work together.
What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, helps your website become more visible in traditional organic search results.
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation, focuses on making your business and content easier for AI-powered search and answer systems to understand, retrieve and reference when answering a user's question.
However, AEO should not be viewed as a replacement for SEO. The better way to think about it is:
- SEO
- gets your website discovered.
- AEO
- helps your information become understandable and answerable.
- Brand authority
- gives search and AI systems reasons to trust you.
Businesses increasingly need all three.
Is SEO still important in 2026?
Absolutely. Technical SEO, quality content, internal linking, crawlability, website structure, backlinks, page experience and search intent are still fundamental.
If search engines cannot properly discover and understand your website, your chances of appearing prominently in both conventional and AI-powered search experiences may be reduced.
But the way SEO is executed is evolving. The old approach of creating a blog for every keyword variation and repeatedly inserting target phrases into pages is becoming less useful.
Search engines are increasingly capable of understanding context, entities, topics, relationships between concepts, user intent, expertise, supporting information and brand authority.
This means businesses need to build topical authority, not simply collect keywords.
What has changed about search?
People increasingly search conversationally. Instead of:
“industrial bandsaw Melbourne”
someone might ask:
“What size industrial bandsaw do I need for cutting 300mm steel sections?”
Or instead of “SEO agency Melbourne”, they may ask: “What should an ecommerce company look for when choosing an SEO and AEO agency?”
These longer, more specific questions create opportunities for businesses that provide genuinely useful answers. This is why content strategy in 2026 should focus not only on keywords but also on the questions surrounding the buying journey.
The SEO + AEO strategy businesses need in 2026
1. Build topical authority
One isolated article is rarely enough to establish expertise. Businesses should develop interconnected content around the subjects they want to own.
For example, a machinery supplier wanting authority around CNC plasma cutting could build content around:
- What CNC plasma cutting is
- Plasma cutting vs laser cutting
- How to choose a CNC plasma machine
- Material thickness considerations
- Operating costs
- Consumables
- Maintenance
- Common applications
- Frequently asked buyer questions
- Product comparisons
- Troubleshooting
- Customer projects
The objective is to become a credible information source around the entire subject, not merely optimise one product page.
2. Answer real customer questions
Some of the best AEO opportunities are hiding inside your own business. Look at sales enquiries, customer emails, live chat, Search Console queries, sales calls, product enquiries and social media comments.
If customers repeatedly ask the same question, your website should probably answer it. Create clear, useful answers and connect them to the appropriate product or service.
3. Create expert-led content, not generic AI content
AI has made content production dramatically faster. It has also made generic content dramatically easier to produce.
If everyone can generate another article titled “10 Benefits of SEO”, why should Google — or a potential customer — consider yours more valuable?
The opportunity is in adding something competitors cannot easily reproduce:
- First-hand experience
- Original research
- Industry expertise
- Customer examples
- Data
- Demonstrations
- Comparisons
- Professional opinions
- Case studies
- Videos
- Unique photography
- Real-world results
AI can support content creation. It should not replace the expertise behind the content.
4. Strengthen your brand entity
AEO is not only about individual webpages. Search systems need to understand who your business is.
Keep important business information consistent across your website, Google Business Profile, professional directories, social profiles, PR mentions, reviews and other authoritative sources.
Your website should clearly explain: Who are you? What do you do? Who do you help? Where do you operate? Why should someone trust you?
That clarity matters to humans — and it makes your business easier for machines to understand.
5. Structure content for humans and machines
Good AEO content does not mean robotic content. A strong structure might include a clear question, a direct answer and a more detailed explanation. Clear headings, descriptive titles, logical internal links and well-organised pages all help.
6. Don't forget technical SEO
AEO cannot compensate for a website that search engines struggle to crawl. Businesses should continue monitoring:
- Indexability
- Website architecture
- Internal linking
- XML sitemaps
- Canonicals
- Redirects
- Broken links
- Mobile usability
- Page performance
- Duplicate content
- Structured data
- Search Console
- Analytics
7. Build authority beyond your website
Businesses should develop credible mentions and links through:
- Digital PR
- Industry publications
- Associations
- Suppliers
- Partnerships
- Relevant directories
- Media
- Professional profiles
- Original research
- Useful resources worth citing
The goal should not simply be generating hundreds of backlinks. Relevance, credibility and authority matter more.
How do you measure AEO?
Businesses should expand reporting beyond traditional rankings. Consider monitoring:
- Organic visibility
- Non-branded search growth
- Keyword rankings
- Generative AI search visibility
- AI referrals
- Brand mentions
- AI citations
- Search Console performance
- Organic enquiries
- Conversion rate
- Assisted conversions
- Engagement
- Revenue attributed to organic traffic
Visibility is useful. Business results are better.
SEO is not dead. It is expanding.
Winning businesses will combine technical SEO, content SEO, authority, brand, AEO and conversion strategy.
Instead of asking “How do we rank #1 for this keyword?”, businesses should increasingly ask:
“How do we become one of the most useful and trusted sources available when customers research this subject?”
That is a much stronger long-term strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation. It focuses on improving content so answer engines and AI-powered search experiences can understand and potentially surface a business's information when answering relevant questions.
Does AEO replace SEO?
No. Strong SEO foundations remain important. AEO should complement SEO rather than replace it.
Can you guarantee that ChatGPT or Google AI will recommend my business?
No reputable agency should guarantee this. AI systems and search engines independently decide which sources to retrieve, display or cite.
Does schema markup help AEO?
Structured data can help search engines understand certain types of website information, but schema alone does not guarantee AI visibility.
Should businesses optimise for Google or AI search first?
For most businesses, the best approach is to build one strong search strategy covering technical SEO, useful content, authority, brand visibility and answer-friendly information.