Scan a business
← All guides

Get Found Playbook · The basics

SEO vs. AEO: what's the difference, and which one matters?

One is being found in a list. The other is being named in an answer. Here's the difference in plain words, and why you don't need two plans.

·

Two phones side by side on a shop counter, one showing a Google map of nearby businesses and the other showing a chat answer that names a local business
In plain words
  • SEO is being found in a list. AEO is being named in an answer.
  • People still mostly use Google Maps, but more are asking an AI, and the two are merging.
  • The same work wins both: one complete, honest listing.

Don't want to read? Let an AI walk you through it.

Tap the button, then paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. It becomes your coach for this one fix.

You're a patient, friendly coach helping a small business owner check two things at once: SEO, which means showing up when people search on Google, and AEO, which means getting named when someone asks an AI for a recommendation. Talk to me like I'm brand new to this. Give me one short step at a time, and wait for me to say "done" before the next one.

First, ask me two questions and wait for my answers: (1) What is my business called, what do I sell, and what town am I in? (2) Am I on my phone or on a computer right now?

Then walk me through it. Step 1: have me search my business name on Google and paste in what the listing shows: category, description, hours, how many photos, and the latest reviews. Step 2: have me open ChatGPT (or a new chat here) and ask "what do you know about [my business] in [my town]?" and paste in the answer. Step 3: compare the two. List the three gaps that hurt both SEO and AEO at the same time, in plain words, like a description with no customer words, hours that don't match, or no reviews that mention specifics. Step 4: give me the first fix, with the exact taps: Google Maps app, tap my profile picture, then Your Business Profile, then Edit profile; or on a computer, search my business name on Google and use the "Your business on Google" panel. Step 5: set me a 15-minute weekly routine that covers both: one photo, one review answered, one fact checked.

Ground rule: only advice that follows Google's rules for Business Profiles. No fake reviews, no second listings, no stuffing extra words into my business name, and no promises about being number one.

Open ChatGPTOpen ClaudeOpen Gemini

The difference in plain words

SEO is being found in a list. Someone searches "tire shop near me," and Google shows a map with three businesses and a list under it. SEO is getting on that list, as high as you can.

AEO is being named in an answer. Someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google's AI "who can patch a tire on a Sunday?" and the AI writes a few sentences and names two or three shops. AEO is being one of the names.

Do this: say your goal out loud both ways. "I want to be on the list" and "I want to be the name in the answer." Same goal, two doors.

How people find a business in your area today

Still mostly Google Maps and Google search. That hasn't changed. But a growing share of people ask an AI instead, especially for "who's good at" questions. And the two are merging: Google now shows an AI answer on top of the list. So the person who typed "tire shop near me" sees the AI's answer first, then the map, then the list. If you're missing from one, you're probably missing from the other.

Do this: search your business on Google and look at what shows above the map. That's the new front door.

The key point: the same work wins both

Google and the AI read the same sources: your listing, your reviews, your website. Here's each piece of work, and what it does for both.

  1. A complete listing. For SEO, Google trusts a listing with every field filled in. For AEO, the AI has facts to quote instead of gaps to skip. See Part 1.
  2. Real photos. For SEO, photos get you picked over the empty listing next door. For AEO, they prove you're a real place, open and busy. See Part 2.
  3. Honest, specific reviews. For SEO, reviews are a big part of how much Google trusts you. For AEO, "the barbacoa plate is the best on Sundays" is the exact sentence an AI quotes. See Part 3.
  4. Monthly posts. For SEO, activity tells Google you're open. For AEO, fresh facts replace old ones, so the AI stops quoting last year's hours. See Part 4.
  5. Services typed as text. For SEO, real words match real searches. For AEO, the AI can only name you for "brake jobs" if the words "brake jobs" are somewhere it can read. See Part 5.
  6. A one-page website with an FAQ. For SEO, Google rewards having a working site. For AEO, question-and-answer text is the exact shape of an AI answer. See Part 6.

Do this: pick the piece you've done least, and do that one first.

You don't need two strategies. You need one complete listing. Any "AEO expert" pitch you get comes down to the same six pieces above. Do them once, keep them fresh, and you've done both jobs.
The 15-minute weekly routine that covers both. Once a week, before you close: post one photo from the week, answer every new review, and check one fact (hours, phone, or a service) on Google and on your website. Once a month, ask ChatGPT what it knows about you and fix the first gap. That's it.

So which one matters?

Both, and it doesn't matter, because they're the same work. Most people still find you through the list today. More will find you through the answer over time. One honest, complete, fresh listing puts you in both. Read What is SEO? and What is AEO? for the plain-words versions, and Show up in AI answers for the full step-by-step.

Do this: run the free checkup below. It scores the six pieces, and every one of them counts twice.

Are you on the list and in the answer?

Run the free 60-second checkup. It scores the same six pieces that Google and the AI both read. Your EDC coaches local businesses through the fixes, free.

Run my free checkup