AEO vs SEO
Quick table
| Aspect | SEO | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank top 10 on Google | Be one of 3-5 cited sources in AI answer |
| User action | See link → click → read | See answer → often no click |
| Key signals | Backlinks, content length, Core Web Vitals | Structured data, AI summary file, sameAs, E-E-A-T, entity clarity |
| Feedback cycle | Weeks / months | Days / weeks (measurable via tracking questions) |
Shared signals
- Good title/meta — both
- Sitemap — both
- JSON-LD — both, AEO weighs more
AEO-exclusive signals
- AI summary file (llms.txt standard)
- AI bot whitelist in your policy
- sameAs entity binding
- Disambiguation copy