What Is AI SEO and Why Should Businesses Start Optimising for AI Search?
People are changing the way they research businesses.
Google remains hugely important, but platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI are increasingly being used to compare companies, research products and recommend services.
This has created a new area of marketing commonly known as AI SEO.
What is AI SEO?
AI SEO is the process of improving how clearly AI-powered platforms understand, reference and recommend your business.
The goal is to make it easier for AI platforms to understand:
Who your business is
What products or services you offer
Where you operate
What you specialise in
Why you may be relevant to a user's question
AI SEO can include website content, technical SEO, structured data, reviews, brand mentions, third-party coverage and the overall authority of your business online.
Is AI SEO the same as GEO or AEO?
Broadly, yes.
Because AI search is still developing, there is no single name used across the industry.
You may hear terms including:
AI SEO
AI Search Optimisation
Answer Engine Optimisation or AEO
Generative Engine Optimisation or GEO
LLM Optimisation or LLMO
AI Visibility Optimisation
A survey of more than 200 senior SEO professionals found that 36% called it AI Search Optimisation, while 27% continued to call it SEO for AI platforms and 18% used Generative Engine Optimisation or GEO.
The terminology may change.
The objective stays the same: help your business appear when people use AI to research something you offer.
Why is AI SEO becoming important?
AI platforms are increasingly influencing buying decisions.
In a 2026 Semrush study:
55% used AI for product research at least weekly
43% had discovered a new brand through AI
50% had made a purchase after using AI during their research
That means AI is becoming part of the customer journey, particularly during research and comparison.
Are businesses already optimising for AI search?
Many are not.
In June 2026, Semrush surveyed 481 marketers, business owners and SEO professionals.
Only 22% said they had fully integrated traditional SEO and AI search optimisation across their strategy, execution and reporting.
More significantly, 37% said competitors were being mentioned more often than their own business in AI-generated answers.
Another 30% said AI platforms were describing their brand inaccurately.
For businesses, this creates both a risk and an opportunity.
What happens if my competitors optimise for AI before I do?
AI platforms rely on information from across the web to understand businesses and recommend answers.
If your competitors have clearer websites, stronger authority, better third-party mentions and more useful content, AI platforms may understand and recommend them more easily.
This could mean they appear when potential customers ask questions such as:
"Who are the best accountants for small businesses in Dublin?"
"Which hotel should I choose for a corporate event?"
"Which digital marketing agency offers SEO and social media?"
Being left out of these answers may mean being left out of the customer's initial shortlist.
Does being mentioned in AI actually lead to customers?
It can.
Semrush found that after seeing a brand mentioned by an AI platform:
40% searched Google for more information
36% compared it against alternatives on Google
28% visited the company's website directly
AI does not always generate an immediate website click.
Instead, it can influence which businesses a customer decides to investigate further.
How do you optimise for AI SEO?
There is no single trick.
AI SEO works best when your business has a clear and authoritative online presence.
That can include:
Clear service pages that explain exactly what you offer.
Useful content that answers real customer questions.
Strong technical SEO and structured website information.
Consistent information about your business across the web.
Reviews and trusted third-party mentions.
PR coverage, industry listings and authoritative links.
Content that demonstrates expertise and experience.
The easier it is for AI platforms to understand your business, the better your chances of being included in relevant answers.
Is now a good time to start AI SEO?
Potentially, yes.
AI search is already influencing buying decisions, while many businesses are still working out how to optimise for it.
That creates an opportunity to start improving visibility before competition becomes significantly stronger.
SEO became highly competitive over many years.
AI search is still at a much earlier stage.
Businesses that start now can understand how they currently appear in ChatGPT,Claude, Gemini, Google AI and other platforms, identify gaps and begin building stronger visibility.
Where should a business start?
A good first step is an SEO and AI SEO audit.
This allows you to understand how your website currently performs in traditional search and how clearly AI platforms understand and reference your business.
At Canopy Creative, we help businesses improve their visibility across both traditional search and AI-powered search.
Because the way people search is changing.
And businesses need to be visible wherever those searches happen.