We already covered why GEO is mostly noise. Now meet its cousin: AEO, Answer Engine Optimisation. Same energy, different acronym, equally overblown.
AEO is the idea that search is shifting from keyword queries to conversational questions, and that you need a new optimisation discipline to capture the “answer engines”, voice assistants, featured snippets, position zero results. The argument goes: Google, Alexa, Siri, and ChatGPT are all becoming answer engines, and if you don’t optimise specifically for answers, you’ll be invisible.
It’s not entirely wrong. But the conclusion the industry draws from it (that you need AEO as a distinct practice) absolutely is.
What actually happened to voice search
Cast your mind back to 2017–2019. Every conference had a keynote about voice search. “By 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice.” Brands were told to restructure their content strategy around conversational queries. Agencies launched voice search optimisation packages, charged accordingly.
Then 2020 arrived. And 2021. And 2022. Voice search didn’t eat traditional search. People use voice for simple commands (set a timer, call Mum, what’s the weather) not for complex purchasing decisions or in-depth research. When someone wants to choose an accountant, compare software, or understand a business problem, they type. The nuance and control of typed search hasn’t been replaced by asking Alexa.
The voice search revolution was real in narrow contexts. As a fundamental shift in how people research and buy things? It didn’t happen. The agencies who sold voice search optimisation packages in 2019 have mostly rebranded them as AEO or GEO packages now. The packages themselves are not obviously different.
Featured snippets are real, and they’re just SEO
There’s something genuinely worthwhile buried inside AEO: featured snippets. The boxes that appear above organic results when Google decides it can answer a query directly. Position zero. These are worth optimising for, they can significantly increase visibility, particularly for informational queries where someone wants a quick answer.
But getting into featured snippets is not a new discipline. It’s been a documented SEO tactic since at least 2016. Specifically: answer the question clearly and early in the content, use proper heading structure, format answers as concise paragraphs or lists depending on the query type, and have sufficient topical authority for Google to trust your answer.
Every one of those is standard SEO practice. Calling it AEO and billing it separately is a repackage, not an innovation.
The voice search question
Voice search does exist and does have some genuinely different characteristics. Voice queries tend to be longer and more conversational. They’re often local (“find a plumber near me”) or simple factual lookups. For local businesses, optimising for natural language queries in your Google Business Profile can be worth doing.
But this is not a separate discipline. It’s a small adjustment within existing SEO practice, writing naturally, structuring content clearly, answering questions directly. If your SEO is already done well, voice optimisation requires almost no additional work.
What to do instead
Write content that answers real questions your customers are actually asking. Structure it clearly so Google understands what each section covers. Build genuine topical authority in your area. Answer questions directly and early in the content, don’t bury the answer in padding.
That’s it. That’s what works for featured snippets, voice search, AI Overviews, and every other surface where Google might surface your content. They all pull from the same pool. The pool is filled with content that’s genuinely good and properly structured. AEO is not a new pool.
