If you’ve landed here, chances are you’ve noticed that the search game is changing – and fast.
In the beginning of 2010s I wrote my master’s thesis in computer science about search engines and also touched the search engine optimization topic. The same principles I researched back then have basically ruled the SEO game for all this time. Until now. About 15 years later, finally, the way information is found on the web seems to be changing for good.
Google’s classic ten blue links are no longer the default way people discover products, brands, or even ideas. ChatGPT is now a mainstream traffic driver. Perplexity and Bing’s Copilot are acting like intelligent research assistants. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode are blending AI and search in a way that’s pushing organic results further down the page – or off the page entirely.
Welcome to the world of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
These aren’t just new acronyms. They reflect a new reality:
- People now ask questions, not just search terms.
- Answers are summarized by language models, not ranked by link juice.
- Clicks are earned through trust and citations, not just position on a page.
The goal of this handbook is simple: to help you understand how AI-driven search engines actually work – and how to appear in their answers.
Whether you’re a marketer, founder, content lead, SEO professional, or growth strategist, this guide will:
- Demystify how platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini decide what to show users.
- Help you create content that earns visibility inside AI-generated answers.
- Show you how off-site mentions and semantic content design now play a critical role.
- Provide templates, examples, and steps to act on today.
This isn’t just a pivot from SEO. It’s a foundational shift in how the web routes attention.
If you want to:
- Be the answer inside an LLM’s response.
- Show up when people ask for the best tools in your niche.
- Create content that LLMs choose, quote, and link to.
…then this guide is for you.
Let’s get to work.
Now, continue to the next chapter What Are AEO and GEO?
AEO & GEO Handbook 2026 by People, business, and AI systems clarity coach Mike Moisio