AEO, AI Optimization, GEO? FAQs?!
The SEO industry seems to invent a new acronym every month for optimizing websites for artificial intelligence. AEO as people are calling it now a days is all the rage and with good reason. More and more internet users are using large language models like Chat GPT and Gemini instead of traditional Google Search to preform search queries. According to a study by Ethan Smith, over 50% of search engine traffic comes from AI alone. In the United States, there are 5.4 billion monthly AI sessions as of March 2026.
At High Effect Web Design, we’ve noticed more clients reporting traffic from AI-powered search tools. Interestingly, many of these websites were ranking in AI results before we implemented any dedicated “AEO” tactics. Even after testing popular recommendations such as FAQ-heavy pages, the results were often minimal. So what is causing our sites to be searching in AI like Gemini and ChatGPT? We decided to test it!
Here is the TLDR: Keep it local, make it unique, make it human-centered, and just do regular darn SEO!
Keep It Local
We work exclusively with businesses that are trying to compete in a local market, both local brick and mortar stores as well as local service providers. There are three types of key phrases we see when people perform searches with the intent of finding a local business: (P.S. these apply to both traditional search AND AI search).
These include:
- Key phrase + near me
- Key phrase + location
- Key phrase
Let’s apply these three types of queries to a window installation company based in Hampton. If a potential client wanted to find a company that replaces windows, they might look up the following:
- Window replacement near me
- Window replacement Hampton NH
- Window replacement
When AI is being used for search, these key phrases may become longer. Instead of “Window replacement near me” the query may become “What are the best window replacement companies near me?”, or “What are the top rated window companies in my area?”
While the phrasing may be different when users engage with AI instead of Google Search, the general principle is the same.
Traditionally, SEO best practices recommend building town-specific landing pages to target these searches. Our testing suggests that AI search engines value these pages as well. Our town-specific landing pages consistently get mentioned in AI overviews. The town pages that show up the most in AI overviews are the ones that mention specific landmarks of the location clients are trying to rank for AND projects they have done in that location. Mentioning local landmarks, neighborhoods, and completed projects helps demonstrate real-world experience in the communities you serve.
Town Page made for Window Installation Company
Make It Unique
Write unique content using your own experience. Think about it. AI already has a massive data set it can pull from to answer users questions. If your article simply repeats information that already exists across thousands of websites, AI systems have little reason to reference it. Original experiences, local knowledge, and firsthand expertise provide value that AI cannot easily generate on its own.
High Effect wrote a blog for a tree service provider who works up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The blog was about a winter month infestation that happened a few years ago in the White Mountains that caused large swaths of forest to die. Because the article focused on a unique local event and included firsthand industry knowledge, it began ranking highly in Google, appearing in AI Overviews, and receiving mentions from ChatGPT.
Screenshot of Winter Moth Damage in Northern New England
Write content that is unique! AI will spit out things it already knows, it wont use the extra energy to cite your page. Does that mean you shouldn’t use AI at all in your writing? Not necessarily. AI can absolutely be used to assist in the writing process, but the majority of the research and creative should be done by humans.
Human Centered Content
Human centered content is important for AI, and will grow in importance as AI evolves. AI can summarize information, but it cannot participate in a community event, complete a project for a customer, or witness an industry-specific challenge firsthand. AI is more likely to cite pages that have content that has never been written before, that we established before. The easiest way to make content that has never been seen before is to write it from a human-centered perspective. We all experiences things very unique to us that an AI can never feel. We use that to our advantage in AEO.
Several of our blogs are written about local events our clients participate in. It is important to always mention the who, what, where, when, and how. We use first person words like “we” ,”I”, “us” in the sentences to make them feel more personal.
Write about things people actually want to hear about. No one actually goes out and reads a blog with titles like “The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Trusted Contractor.” Instead, write about that niche thing that happened in your industry, or write about cool projects you’ve worked on!
Do Regular SEO
So much of what works already for normal SEO works in AI. Write proper schema, keep your pages properly structured, keep that content up to date, and make sure all you have done all your technical fixes. For Google Business Profile, keep on getting those 5 star reviews, Google’s Gemini looks at those when recommending brands!
AEO, Artificial Intelligence, FAQs! Hopefully now you understand a bit more about optimizing search for AI with a human-centered focus. If you have any more questions about AEO for your site, reach out us at High Effect Web Design. You can fill out our contact form, or email us at contact@higheffect.com.
