What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO (search engine optimization) is about ranking high in the list of results a customer clicks through. AEO (answer engine optimization) is about being the business an AI assistant names when it answers a question directly. They overlap a lot, and a local business now needs both because customers search both ways.
By the Lumen Local team. Updated August 2026.
For years, getting found meant ranking on Google's results page and earning the click. SEO is still that: relevant content, a fast and healthy site, local signals, and structured data that help you rank for what customers search.
AEO is the newer layer. When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overview to recommend a plumber or roofer near them, the AI gives one answer instead of ten links. AEO is the work of making sure your business is the one it can read, trust, and name, through clear answer-first content, consistent data, and machine-readable structure.
The good news for local businesses: the foundations are shared. A complete profile, consistent listings, real reviews, and a well-structured site help you in both classic search and AI answers. That is why a Local Marketing Score grades your Google presence and your AI-search visibility together.
Not sure where your business stands on these today? Our free market analysis measures exactly this and shows you the gaps in about a minute.
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