The evolution of search won't stop with LLMs. The next stage involves autonomous AI agents that complete tasks like booking travel on a user's behalf. Marketers must shift their focus from answering human queries to ensuring their products and services are discoverable and selectable by these agents.
Data shows traditional SEO traffic from '10 blue links' is flat, not declining. The rapid growth of LLMs represents an additive channel, increasing the total volume of search and discovery, rather than replacing existing search behaviors. Marketers should view this as a growing, not a shifting, market.
It's crucial to balance the hype around LLMs with data. While their usage is growing at an explosive 100% year-over-year rate, the total volume of LLM queries is still only about 1/15th the size of traditional Google Search. This highlights it as a rapidly emerging channel, but not yet a replacement for search.
Don't overcomplicate technical Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). The most impactful factors are the same as in SEO: strong internal links, proper schema markup, and ensuring LLMs can crawl your page. Hyped tactics like `LLMs.txt` are currently ineffective and not used by major search engines.
Unlike SEO, which favors established authority, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a level playing field. Early-stage companies can gain traction quickly by creating content for ultra-specific, long-tail questions where no answers currently exist, making them the default winner regardless of their size.
Traditional SEO values backlinks from any page on a high-authority domain. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is different. The only thing that matters is getting mentioned on the *specific URLs* that an LLM already cites for your target prompts. Your off-page strategy must be surgical, focusing only on these pre-identified sources.
Keyword tools are useless for identifying the ultra-long-tail queries (often 60+ words) that drive Answer Engine Optimization. The best source for this content is your own first-party data. Analyze support tickets, sales call transcripts, and Reddit threads to discover the highly specific questions your customers are actually asking.