Search is changing. For years, SEO (search engine optimisation) has been the go-to way to get found on Google and Bing. Now we also have AIO (AI optimisation) – making your content easy for AI assistants and “answer engines” (think ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews) to understand, trust, and recommend. The good news: you don’t have to choose one or the other. They work best together. Here’s a plain-English guide for busy owners and leaders.
What is SEO?
SEO is the set of practices that help your website appear prominently on traditional search results pages. Typical goals: rank higher, earn more organic clicks, and turn those visits into enquiries and sales. Tactics include relevant content, sensible site structure, page speed, mobile-friendliness, local listings, and reputable links from other sites.
What is AIO?
AIO is about being discoverable and dependable when an AI does the searching for your customer. Instead of ten blue links, an AI often gives a single consolidated answer with a few cited sources. AIO focuses on making your brand and information machine-readable, unambiguous, and trustworthy, so assistants feel confident including (and citing) you in their responses.
AIO is also sometimes referred to as:
- AEO – Answer Engine Optimisation
- GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation
- LLMO – Large Language Model Optimisation
How SEO and AIO differ
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Where you appear
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SEO: Traditional search result pages and local packs.
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AIO: AI summaries, chat answers, voice assistants, and “overview” panels.
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Content format
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SEO: In-depth pages that target search intent (guides, service pages, blogs).
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AIO: Clear, concise facts that can be quoted or summarised – FAQs, short answers, bullet points, tables, and up-to-date data.
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Signals that matter
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SEO: Relevance, quality content, technical health, and backlinks.
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AIO: All of the above plus structured data (schema.org), entity clarity (your brand, products, locations), consistent facts across the web, and evidence of expertise (real names, credentials, case studies, reviews).
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Trust
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SEO: Demonstrate authority and earn links/reviews.
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AIO: Make trust machine-verifiable – author bios, citations, “About” pages, transparent pricing, policies, and consistent Name-Address-Phone across directories.
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Freshness
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SEO: Regular updates help.
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AIO: Freshness can be decisive. AIs prefer current, specific, and well-structured information they can slot straight into an answer.
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Where they overlap
Both reward genuinely helpful content, fast sites, mobile-friendly design, accessible pages, and a strong, recognisable brand. If you’re already investing in SEO foundations, you’re halfway to AIO. AIO simply asks: could an AI confidently lift this information and present it to a customer, with us cited as the source?
A practical playbook for SMBs
For SEO (the essentials):
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Own your topics, not just keywords. Write pages that answer customer questions before and after the sale: problems you solve, pricing, timelines, comparisons, guarantees.
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On-page basics: clear titles and headings, descriptive meta descriptions, internal links, and optimised images.
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Local visibility: keep your Google Business Profile complete and accurate; collect and respond to reviews.
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Links & mentions: partner pages, local chambers, sponsorships, case studies – earn genuine references from relevant sites.
For AIO (make it machine-friendly):
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Add FAQs to key pages with direct, one-sentence answers. AI assistants love clear Q&A.
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Use structured data (schema.org) for your organisation, products/services, FAQs, articles, events, and locations. This labels your facts for machines.
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Publish the facts as data: opening hours, pricing, specs, service areas, and processes in tidy tables or bullet lists.
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Strengthen author and company identity: real people with roles, credentials, and contact details; an “About” page that explains who you are and why you’re qualified.
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Keep details consistent everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, directories. Inconsistencies reduce confidence.
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Create source-worthy assets: how-to guides, research summaries, calculators, checklists, and case studies with outcomes. These get cited more often – by humans and AIs.
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Avoid “PDF-only” content. If you must use PDFs, also publish an HTML page with the same information so assistants can parse it easily.
Measuring success
SEO metrics
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Organic impressions and clicks
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Rankings for key pages
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Local pack visibility
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Conversions from organic traffic (calls, forms, sales)
AIO metrics
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Appearances and citations in AI answers (you can spot-check queries in tools like Perplexity/Copilot/Google AI Overviews)
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Referral traffic from AI-powered sources (where visible)
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Share of Answer: how often your brand is mentioned when assistants answer core questions in your niche
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Branded search lift and direct enquiries that reference “I saw you in…”
What should you prioritise?
Most small–medium businesses do well with a blended plan:
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70% SEO foundations: site speed, content that answers real questions, local optimisation, reviews, and technical hygiene.
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30% AIO upgrades: structured data, robust FAQs, clear product/service specs, strong author/brand pages, and consistent facts across the web.
If you’re in a fast-moving space (pricing changes often, events, inventory), tilt more toward AIO because freshness and clarity pay off quickly in AI answers.
Quick start checklist
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Turn your top 5 service pages into Q&A-rich resources (3–8 FAQs each).
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Add Organisation, LocalBusiness, Product/Service, and FAQ schema.
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Publish one source-worthy asset per quarter (guide, checklist, calculator, or case study).
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Audit and align your Name-Address-Phone across Google Business Profile and major directories.
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Track a short list of must-win questions and check how often assistants cite you.
Bottom line: SEO gets people to your site. AIO gets your answers in front of people – even when they don’t click. Do both, start simple, and focus on clear, helpful, verifiable information. If you’d like, I can turn this into a short action plan tailored to your industry and location.