Insights · 5 min read
Is AEO just SEO? What Google actually says
Mostly, yes. Google's own guidance states that its generative AI features are rooted in its core Search ranking systems, so the best practices for SEO still apply. AEO is strong SEO fundamentals plus extractable structure plus genuine authority — re-pointed at getting cited, rather than a brand-new discipline.
Written by James Selby, AI consultant, ThirtyThirty · Last updated 26 July 2026
What Google actually says about AI search
In its guide to optimising for AI features on Search, Google is unusually direct: "The best practices for SEO continue to be relevant because our generative AI features on Google Search are rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems." AI Overviews and AI Mode retrieve from the same organic index. So the question isn't "how do I do this new AEO thing?" — it's "is my SEO genuinely good, and is my content the sort a machine can lift a clean answer from?"
Do you need special schema for AI Overviews?
No. Google states plainly that "structured data isn't required for generative AI search, and there's no special schema.org markup you need to add." Structured data is still worth implementing — it helps machines parse your content and earns rich results in normal Search and citations in the non-Google engines — but there is no magic AI schema that unlocks AI Overviews. Anyone selling you one is selling a myth.
Does an llms.txt file help you in Google?
Not in Google. Google says of llms.txt files that "Google Search itself doesn't use them" and that they "will neither harm nor help your site's visibility." It's still worth shipping one, because the non-Google engines and autonomous agents — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity — do read it. The honest move is to be precise about which tactic helps which engine, rather than charging for something that does nothing where you claimed it would.
So what actually gets you cited?
The unglamorous fundamentals. Be crawlable, indexed and snippet-eligible. Publish helpful, first-hand, non-commodity content with a real point of view. Demonstrate genuine expertise (E-E-A-T) with named authors and consistent entity facts. Structure each section so the first sentence is a clean, self-contained answer to a real question. Don't chunk your content into AI-bait fragments — Google actively discourages that and it can trip the scaled-content-abuse policy. It's SEO, done properly, with citation as the goal.
Frequently asked questions
Is AEO a replacement for SEO?
No. Google's own guidance frames optimising for AI features as still being SEO, because the AI answers are generated from the same search index. AEO is SEO fundamentals plus extractable structure plus entity authority, measured by citations. Treat anyone selling it as a wholesale replacement for SEO with caution.
Should I still add structured data?
Yes — just for the right reasons. It isn't required for AI Overviews and there's no special AI schema, but clean structured data helps machines parse your pages, earns rich results in normal Search, and helps the non-Google engines. Implement it as good SEO hygiene, not as an AI cheat code.
How do I measure whether AI is citing me?
For Google, use Search Console's Generative AI performance report — Google states no third-party tool has access to its internal ranking or AI systems, so be sceptical of vendors claiming to measure your "AI Overview rankings" directly. For ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, track citations by running your key queries through them regularly and logging who gets named.