One of the biggest questions looming over the digital media sphere is the degree to which traditional SEO carries into the emerging art of AIO, or GEO. Though this is a moving target given the pace of AI market shifts, the answer appears to be that some, but not all, SEO primes the pump for AIO.
Put another way, the new rules of online visibility are an amalgamation of both traditional SEO and following best practices for getting recommended in AI engines. One piece of supporting evidence is the 45 percent overlap between top-scoring brands in SEO and AIO in SOCI’s Local Visibility Index.
That overlap was one of many data points spotlighted on Day 1 of Localogy’s L26 event. It demonstrates that there isn’t a one-to-one correlation between top-performing brands in SEO and AIO. If that parity existed, we’d technically see a 100 percent overlap between the two categories.
But some overlap could indicate that those who perform well in SEO criteria (such as Google rankings), are utilizing that positioning as a springboard to high performance in AIO (such as recommendations in ChatGPT). The takeaway is that SEO is a foundation for AI engine visibility, not a free pass.
SOCi’s LVI Report Reveals How AI Is Rewriting Local Search Visibility
Consistency is King
Other data came from Insites. While SOCi’s LVI focuses on multi-location brands, Insites latest study looks at SMB visibility. It specifically measured performance by looking at SMB awareness (showing up in search and AI-engine results), reputation (reviews strength) and recommendation (AI answers).
Like SOCi, the findings signal a world in which some traditional SEO ranking factors carry over to AI engine visibility, and some don’t. For example, AI engines don’t care as much about technical SEO, such as page speed, Core Vitals, proper formats & schema, and other classic Google ranking factors.
AI engines on the other hand put more emphasis on the content. And they source their authority from business websites, business listings in GBP, and reviews & third-party sites (in that order). But most of all, content needs to be consistent across these channels. Consistency is king for AI engine visibility.
This emphasis on consistency makes sense given the propensity towards hallucinations. There’s a high rate at which AI engines invent new businesses, or provide the wrong business details. Given that reality, businesses can boost the probability of accurate answers by applying consistent structured data.
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Chaos is a Ladder
Another key finding shared by several thought leaders during Day 1 at L26 was the breadth of credibility that needs to be established in an AI search world. With optimization energy previously aimed primarily at GBP listings and websites, businesses now need to optimize across a larger surface area.
Put another way, citations are back, says Sterling Sky’s Elizabeth Rule. That brings back the art of facilitating links and mentions in authoritative sources such as trade publications, chambers of commerce, and awards/accolades. She even recommends issuing more press releases.
Rule also names Reddit as the latest Golden Goose where businesses can plant themselves. AI engines see it as not just an authoritative source, but a rich training ground for the long tail of topical intelligence that they must tap to answer nuanced conversational queries. Similar can be said about Yelp reviews.
But all the above chaos and disruption to the world of traditional search is good news for SEO practitioners. The confusion and unanswered questions brought by this disruption place them in high demand. Or as Insites’ Chris Fletcher says, quoting Game of Thrones, “Chaos is a ladder, not a pit.”
Header image credit: Markus Winkler on Unsplash
