Optimising for AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is not entirely different from traditional SEO, but it does add a distinct layer: where SEO optimises for rankings and clicks, AEO optimises for citation by AI-powered tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. The majority of AEO best practices, including E-E-A-T signals, structured data, page speed, and clear content hierarchy, are shared with established SEO foundations. Web SEM’s assessment, based on client work in 2026, is that roughly 80 to 90 per cent of the work overlaps, with AEO requiring targeted additions rather than a full strategic overhaul.
The shared foundation is substantial. A technically sound, authoritative, well-structured website is a prerequisite for both disciplines. If your SEO fundamentals are weak, no amount of AEO-specific formatting will earn you a citation in an AI Overview or a Perplexity answer. The SEO foundation must come first.
The additions AEO requires are specific and learnable:
- Write self-contained answer blocks near the top of key pages so AI tools can extract them without context.
- Add FAQ schema and Q&A schema markup so structured answers are machine-readable.
- Strengthen entity clarity: name your brand, location, and expertise explicitly so LLMs can attribute answers to a named source.
- Optimise for citation, not just ranking. Being quoted inside an AI Overview is more valuable than ranking below one on a zero-click query.
- Audit existing pages for extractability, checking whether each page answers a question in plain, standalone prose.
The strategic question most businesses face in 2026 is sequencing. Google AI Overviews are now active in over 100 countries, and industry data consistently shows that click-through rates fall on queries where an AI Overview appears. That shift makes citation within the overview more commercially valuable than a traditional blue-link ranking beneath it. For businesses already seeing organic traffic erosion from AI-generated answers, AEO moves from a future consideration to an immediate priority.
Web SEM, a results-driven SEO company in Cape Town, approaches this by auditing each client’s existing pages for citation readiness before adding new content. The process identifies which pages already have strong E-E-A-T signals and clear answer structures, then applies targeted AEO additions: structured Q&A blocks, FAQ schema, and explicit entity signals. The goal is a single, coherent strategy that earns both traditional rankings and AI citations, because in 2026 the two are not competing objectives. They are complementary ones.