From Searching to Answering: How to Win Over Both Google and AI Chatbots

The way we look for information online is shifting beneath our feet. For a long time, the ritual was simple. You’d type a few keywords into a search bar, hit enter, and scroll through a list of blue links to find the one that looked most promising. We call this Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. It’s the art of making sure your website is the one the search engine picks to show the world.

But lately, that ritual has changed.

Instead of typing “best coffee shops near me” and looking at a map, people are asking their kitchen speakers or their phones. They’re getting direct answers from AI chatbots. Honestly, they aren’t looking for a list of links anymore. They’re looking for a single, definitive answer. This is Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO.

If you run a business, you might feel like the goalposts just moved. Honestly, they did. I guess it feels a bit like trying to hit a moving target while someone is spinning the room. But the good news is that these two strategies aren’t enemies. They’re actually two sides of the same coin. Understanding how they differ and how they work together is the key to staying visible in a world that’s moving from “search” to “answer.”

What is AEO?

Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of optimizing your content so it can be easily synthesized and delivered as a direct answer by an AI or a voice assistant. When you ask a smart device a question, and it talks back to you, it’s using an answer engine.

These engines don’t just want to point people to a website. They want to provide the information immediately so the user never has to click a link at all. This might sound scary for website traffic, but it’s a massive opportunity for brand authority. If an AI chooses your data to answer a user’s question, you become the trusted source in that moment.

And honestly, isn’t being the trusted authority what we all want?

I remember the first time I asked a voice assistant for a recipe while my hands were covered in flour. I didn’t want a list of blogs. I just needed to know how many teaspoons of salt to add. That’s the heart of AEO. It’s about being helpful in the messy, real-world moments.

How SEO and AEO Compare

To understand the difference, think about the intent of the person asking the question.

SEO is built for discovery and exploration. It works best when someone wants to compare options, read a long-form guide, or browse a gallery. It relies on keywords, backlinks, and technical site health. The goal is to rank high in the search results so a human being decides to click on your URL.

AEO is built for immediacy and precision. It thrives on “who,” “what,” “where,” and “how” questions. It doesn’t care as much about your fancy layout or your sidebar. It cares about clear, structured data and factual snippets that it can scrape and read aloud. AEO is less about “come visit my site” and more about “here’s the exact piece of information you need right now.”

So, while SEO focuses on the “where” (the page), AEO focuses on the “what” (the facts).

And that’s the point. One is a destination. The other is a utility.

Why You Need Both

You can’t afford to choose one over the other because your customers are using both. Someone might use AEO in the morning to find out your business hours or what services you offer while they’re driving. Later that afternoon, they might use SEO to read your blog posts and case studies to see if you’re the right fit for their long-term project.

But what happens if you aren’t there for both moments? Maybe you lose a lead before they even know you exist.

If you only focus on SEO, you miss out on the growing population of voice and AI users. If you only focus on AEO, you lose the chance to build a deep, lasting relationship with users who want to dive into your expertise on your own platform. You know, it’s about meeting people where they are, not where you want them to be.

How to Incorporate Both into Your Strategy

Merging AEO/SEO doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your marketing department. It requires a shift in how you structure the information you’re already sharing.

1. Focus on Conversational Language
   SEO has historically been a bit stiff. We used to write for “best plumber Chicago.” AEO requires us to write the way people talk. Use full questions as headings. Instead of just “Our Services,” try “What services does our team provide?” This mirrors the way people talk to their digital assistants.
2. Use Structured Data.
   This is the technical bridge between the two. Schema markup is a type of code that tells search engines exactly what your data means. It tells them “this is a price,” “this is a review,” or “this is an FAQ.” Both traditional search engines and AI answer engines love this because it removes the guesswork.
3. Create Dedicated FAQ Sections
   FAQ pages are an AEO goldmine. By providing a clear question and a concise, 40 to 60-word answer immediately following it, you’re essentially hand-delivering content to an answer engine. At the same time, these pages are great for SEO because they cover a wide variety of long-tail keywords.
4. Prioritize Authority and Trust
   Both SEO and AEO lean heavily on your reputation. Search engines want to show results from experts. AI engines want to give answers that are factually correct. Citing your sources, keeping your business listings updated, and earning mentions from other reputable sites will boost your performance in both arenas.

The Future is Hybrid

We’re entering an era where search is becoming more personal and more conversational. The businesses that thrive will be the ones that stop seeing their website as just a digital brochure and start seeing it as a knowledge base.

By balancing the deep, investigative power of SEO with the quick, responsive nature of AEO, you ensure that no matter how your customer looks for you, they find exactly what they’re looking for. It’s about being helpful, being accurate, and being present where the questions are being asked.