2026: SEO, and where to next (hint: AEO, GEO, and more)

You’d think after all this time that SEO would be sorted, as easy as following Google’s 182 pages of best-practice recommendations. Right?

The problem, of course, is that we’re only seeing what Google wants us to see. There are thousands more algorithms that they’re not sharing. And when you throw into the mix AEO and GEO (as well as AISEO, LLMO, ASO, and SXO!), you realise there’s even more to consider.

Um, what the heck?

If you’re looking at AEO and GEO for the first time, here’s a quick guide to what they are – and aren’t (and how they compare to SEO).

• AEO (answer engine optimisation) focuses on creating content that provides direct, concise answers (targeting voice and conversational searches) for AI-powered search, like Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT. In terms of content, AEO likes structured, concise answers. And you know you’ve done well when your content is featured in the AI Overview snippets at the top of your search results.
  

• GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the art of making your content visible and trustworthy for AI models (e.g. Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude) to use in their answers. It requires clear, structured, credible, and contextually rich content to make sure AI can extract information accurately.

  
  

• By comparison, SEO (search engine optimisation) serves up lists of links based on traditional text-based queries. For SEO, the emphasis is on details and keyword-driven content, and success is measured by rankings (yay, first on the page!), traffic, and click-through rates.

So, which is more important?

At the moment, SEO is still king.

That’s not to say that AEO and GEO are unimportant or should be undervalued.

Globally, 50% of today’s consumers already default to using AI-powered search (through AI-powered apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, and Claude, and Google’s AI Overview). And this figure is expected to reach 75% by 2028.

Locally, however, New Zealanders are unexpectedly more cautious - only 39.2% of us have used AI search (at least once) instead of traditional search engines.

It’s more that if you already have a good search engine optimisation strategy, you’re already paying all your hard work forward into AEO and GEO.

We’re seeing people using all sorts of strategies to get on board the AEO and GEO bandwagon. For example, putting up their own lists of their own Top 10 <industry name> companies in New Zealand – with their own name at the top of the list (which, incidentally, is an old SEO trick). And for those who’ve been tempted to chunk their content (put it in bite-sized segments) to improve AI search results, Google’s given that a firm thumbs-down.  

However, we expect this type of Wild West tactics to be rapidly overtaken by more mature strategies as AI models get smarter and far more discerning about the quality of content they ingest. So while it may be tempting to try for quick wins, this approach may end up penalising your progress – and you’ll need to start all over again with more authentic and authoritative content.

Our recommendation will always be to set the bar higher than required, get the basics right, and continue to invest in improvement. And to work with digital marketing and content professionals. Your online presence isn’t something you can afford to play with in-house and potentially get wrong.

Keeping up with the play

We mentioned earlier that Google have a sizeable ‘how to get SEO right’ guide. They also offer a wide range of SEO certifications (from analytics to ads).

Equally important when it comes to SEO, AEO, and GEO, is staying up to date with what’s new and changing by engaging with peers across a range of industry platforms and forums. You can do this by subscribing to the Search Engine Roundtable, which provides a single source for the most interesting threads from the SEM (search engine marketing) forums, as well as Search Engine Journal and Search Engine Land. 

The New Zealand Marketing Association also offers a range of courses from beginner to expert level.

So – what are we saying here? The volume of information and the rate of change in SEO, AEO, and GEO are such that it’s extremely difficult for a non-dedicated internal marketing resource to keep up. And we haven’t even touched on AI.

Keeping your website optimised

Given that the sands shift so quickly under SEO, AEO and GEO, how can you ensure your digital optimisation strategy stays current? Or as some clients put it – how much is enough? How do we know when to stop?

With regular reporting delivered to their Inboxes, our clients can see how their digital assets are performing. They can see when they are losing or gaining online traction – or if they’ve been impacted by Google suddenly introducing a major algorithm change (as they tend to do at random intervals.)

We constantly monitor our clients’ digital performance (we’d be poor partners if we didn’t) – reassessing and advising when a change of strategy, or just some simple tweaking, is needed.

It’s also worth noting that, as well as providing static performance reports, we deliver interactive reports that let our clients change time periods and deep-dive into their data.

Content with your content?

What works? That’s a good question.

While unwilling to share all their algorithms and leaving you to rely on trial and error, Google does advocate E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) when creating effective people-first content.

Thought leadership via a sound content strategy is also critical – that combination of original thinking and facts will also keep your readers engaged and your content ranking.

The days of randomly stuffing content with keywords have thankfully moved on. Modern strategies focus on using copy that offers authoritative solutions. For example, instead of just offering advice and leading readers to it via informational keywords, you can group commercial intent keywords (keeping in mind the objective of your copy) to reinforce your industry qualifications to offer a solution – and help sell it. Think of it this way: Informational keywords = passive, commercial intent keywords = active. When combined, they’re powerful.

Other problems? If Google isn’t noticing your content, it’s likely your site isn’t being indexed. (The good news is there’s a setting for that!) Or if you’re experiencing a significant decrease in search engine visibility, offering a generally poor user experience, and users have accessibility issues with Google, it’s probable that your headlines and H1 headings haven’t been tagged by your content manager or developer.

A professional audit will highlight these issues and help improve your site's performance.

AI’s the answer – right?

Yes, there are many AI tools available to help you with your SEO – automating tasks including keyword recommendations, content optimisation, providing technical audits, and more. You can even potentially use ChatGPT to generate an initial keyword list.

However, the answers and suggestions provided still require human oversight.

A list of keywords may look great, but are they ones that are actually being searched for by your target audience? Are the recommendations contextual and actually useful?

Before you rush to replace your SEO agency with an AI tool, remember that you still need a knowledgeable and experienced expert to fact-check, add their input, and make those all-important final decisions.

AI is not the be-all and end-all (not yet, anyway).

A move to a more holistic approach

Probably the one question we’re most often asked is ‘what's next?’

The disciplines of SEO, AEO, GEO and optimised site design are moving ever closer together. While each can be undertaken as a separate project, we anticipate that they will become inseparable in the future, and a new website project will be subject to a far more holistic and strategic approach.

That of course means that your digital marketing partner needs to have a broad overview and understanding of each discipline, and a strong appreciation of how each impacts the other – and your site users.

Like to chat about SEO, AEO or GEO – or your current digital marketing strategy? Contact us for an obligation-free chat.