Webinar on AI SEO & AEO Strategies

Summary

Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite, led a webinar on the latest strategies and case studies in AI-powered SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), sharing insights from companies like Webflow and Rippling.
The session highlighted key differences and overlaps between SEO and AEO, actionable strategies for B2B, consumer, and marketplace websites, and the pitfalls of over-relying on AI-generated content.
Attendees participated in an extensive Q&A covering tools, attribution, content strategy, and technical optimization concerns.
The presentation and session recording will be distributed to attendees.

Graphite/Ethan: Publish studies referenced in the webinar on LinkedIn over the next several weeks.
Graphite/Ethan: Share the slide deck and session recording with attendees.
All attendees: Connect with Ethan Smith on LinkedIn for future updates and research.
Graphite/Ethan: Add comprehensive landing page of AEO tools in chat as referenced.

Growth and convergence of AI with search highlighted by real conversion data, notably 8% of Webflow signups now coming from LLM traffic.
LLMs (like ChatGPT, Perplexity) differ from traditional search: results are based on mentions across the web, not just URL rankings.
SEO and AEO share principles, but AEO emphasizes topic clusters (groups of related questions) and long-tail queries with more follow-ups.

Webflow increased signups by optimizing for mention frequency (earned AEO) and by answering comprehensive questions in content (owned AEO).
Rippling and Otter succeeded by creating extensive landing pages covering every feature, use case, language, integration, and more, increasing their likelihood of being surfaced for specific, long-tail queries.
For B2B: List every possible product use case, feature, integration, and create/optimize landing pages accordingly.
For Consumer/Marketplace: Expose product attributes (facets) on category pages and leverage editorial/listicle content.

YouTube is underutilized but highly cited; companies can easily rank new, targeted videos for niche queries, regardless of their authority.
Authentic participation on Reddit works—identify as a company representative, provide value, and avoid overt self-promotion.

Mention in affiliate and editorial sites (even without click-throughs) boosts AEO performance—focus on being cited.

AEO tools mostly track mention/citation frequency and coverage of target questions.
Tools differ in approach: some use APIs (often varying from real user experience), some scrape for more accurate results.
Key tools mentioned: Scrunch (developer-focused), Everune, Athena, Peak (noted as cost-effective).
Attribution best practices: Ask "How did you hear about us?" at the point of conversion, not just relying on referral data or URL parameters.

AI-generated content volume has surpassed human-generated content, but studies show it does not perform well in SEO or AEO.
AI can assist with ideation, outlining, and research, but should not be used to fully generate on-site content.
High correlation between percentage of AI-generated text and lower performance in search and LLM visibility.
Use AI as a tool for human creators, not as a content replacement.

Technical factors like LM.ext, robots.txt, and crawl optimization have limited or no impact on AEO at present.
Ensure pages are crawlable, use proper cross-linking, and leverage schema markup—especially review, rating, and product schemas.
For marketplaces, consider adding detailed question-answer content and exposing product metadata on category pages without risking boilerplate penalties.

AEO and SEO strategies overlap but differ in the importance of earned citations and the breadth of long-tail queries.
Winning strategies: comprehensive coverage of product features/use cases/integrations, maximizing mentions (especially in non-owned digital spaces), and avoiding dependence on AI-generated content.
For early-stage companies: focus efforts on a few high-impact landing pages, YouTube videos, and Reddit engagement; prioritize earned over owned AEO initially.

Do not pursue AI-generated content as a primary strategy —studies confirm it underperforms in both search engine and LLM environments. AI should only assist human creators.
Prioritize earned AEO strategies (YouTube, Reddit, affiliates) —proven impact via increased citation frequency independent of site authority.

Will LLMs begin leveraging LM.ext or similar technical standards in the future for content preference or blocking?
How will AEO tools adapt as API and real-user responses converge (or diverge) over time?
What is the comprehensive methodology LLMs use to aggregate and rank mentions—are search variations run behind the scenes?
When will LLM platforms broadly introduce ads, and how might this reshape organic AEO strategy?
Further research needed on the impact of view counts/quality on YouTube citation effectiveness, and upvotes on Reddit.