RIP: Traditional SEO!

Chamo Hewawasam

Jun 10, 2025

TL;DR:

SEO alone won’t cut it anymore. In 2025, the only way to stay visible is to combine traditional SEO with AI Optimisation (AIO), Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and Search Experience Optimisation (SXO). This article breaks down each layer and shows how to turn visibility into trust, and trust into action, across both search and AI platforms.

1. SEO: Still Essential: But Just the Starting Point

Yes, SEO is still alive, but it’s no longer the main character. Today’s SEO isn’t about stuffing keywords or chasing backlinks. It’s about:

Think of SEO as your entry ticket. It helps you get discovered, but doesn’t guarantee you’ll be chosen or trusted.

AI Optimisation (AIO) is what makes your content learnable and recognisable to AI systems like:

Google’s SGE
ChatGPT with browsing
Bing Copilot
Perplexity.ai

AIO is about clarity and consistency:

Write like a human; short, clear sentences
Keep your brand messaging the same across all platforms
Use structured content (headings, lists, summaries)
Add author info and updated dates; AI values trust signals

Note: Make sure Google and AI tools recognise your brand as a known entity. Use consistent naming, use schema, and maintain presence across platforms like LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and Google Business Profile.

AIO ensures AI understands you, not just that you exist.

3. GEO: Be the Source AI Quotes in Its Answers

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is how you get referenced inside AI-generated responses.

Let’s say someone asks ChatGPT:

“What are the best marketing tools for small teams?”

If you’ve published a concise, well-structured list with FAQs, summaries, and updated references, your site might get quoted right in the answer.

GEO best practices:

Start your page with a short, direct answer
Use tables, definitions, and structured sections.
Add an FAQ block (with schema markup)
Keep content fresh and timestamped.

Note: Content that includes explainer videos, visuals, and structured tables is more likely to be referenced in multimodal AI models.

GEO = Be the source, not just the search result.

4. AEO: Win Google’s Snippets, Answer Boxes & Voice Search

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is how you land:

Google’s Featured Snippet (aka “Position 0”)
“People Also Ask” questions.
Voice search answers
Rich cards (how-to, reviews, FAQs)

To do that:

Use question-based subheadings
Keep answers 40–60 words long.
Add schema markup (FAQ, How To)
Format with bullets, tables, and lists

Google’s algorithm is evolving, but it still loves structured, easy-to-extract answers.

5. SXO: Turn Visitors Into Customers

Search Experience Optimisation (SXO) ensures that once someone lands on your page, they stay, engage, and convert.

That means:

Clear headline and CTA (above the fold)
Fast loading on all devices
Social proof (logos, testimonials, reviews)
Skimmable layout with visuals and whitespace

Your job isn’t just to be found. It’s to earn attention and action.

SEO brings traffic. SXO turns it into results

The Modern Visibility Stack (SEO + AI Edition)

Success today isn’t just about ranking. It’s about building a layered presence so you’re not only found, but trusted, referenced, and acted upon.

Each layer feeds the next. Skipping one breaks the flow.

The Old Model vs The Unified Model

Old SEO Thinking:

SEO = Rank high on Google
Paid = Run ads for clicks
UX = Try not to scare people away
Success = ‘We got traffic!”

New Visibility Strategy (2025+):

You’re not optimising for Google alone anymore. You’re training AI engines, supporting user experience, and building trust at every layer.

6 Things You Should Do Right Now

Add a TL;DR to all your high-value pages
Use the FAQ schema and structured content for GEO + AEO
Test your visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing: Are you cited?
Post your POV on platforms that AI scrapes (LinkedIn, Quora, Medium)
Launch a small AI Max campaign and monitor who the AI finds you relevant for

Note: AI Max is Google’s new keyword-less campaign type that uses your landing page content as the targeting signal. It relies heavily on AIO and SXO quality.

Track real engagement metrics; not just clicks, but dwell time, mentions, and brand lift.

Still have questions? Here are the most common ones we hear when people first learn about AIO, GEO, and the rest of the modern SEO stack:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. If I already do good SEO, do I still need AIO or GEO?

Yes! Absolutely.Traditional SEO helps you rank in Google’s list of results, but AIO helps AI tools understand you, and GEO helps AI tools reference you directly in answers. You could be #1 on Google and still never show up in ChatGPT or Google SGE if your content isn't structured or trustworthy enough for AI.

2. Can I get cited by AI if my site has low domain authority?

Yes, but only if your content is structured, specific, and credible. AI engines often pull from smaller or niche sources that answer questions clearly and look trustworthy (e.g. have a real author, updated content, and structured data). Authority still matters, but clarity beats size in many AI citations.

Note: While clarity can often outweigh size in many niches, in sensitive or regulated industries, especially in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics such as finance, health, and law, authority signals still carry significant weight.

3. Is GEO something I can measure?

Not perfectly yet, but you can track AI visibility manually.

Search your brand and content topics on ChatGPT (with browsing), Bing, and Perplexity
Use tools like SparkToro, AlsoAsked, or Semrush's new AI visibility trackers
Look at direct traffic spikes without ranking changes
Monitor branded search volume increases

4. What’s the difference between GEO and AEO?

Think of it this way:

GEO = AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and SGE quoting your content in AI-generated answers.
AEO = Google picking your content for Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, and voice search results.

GEO = Be the AI’s answer.AEO = Be Google’s highlighted answer.

5. Will all this help me get more traffic?

Not always, but it will help you get better visibility and more trust.

In 2025, not every win looks like a click. Some wins are:

Getting mentioned in an AI answer
Building trust before someone ever visits your site
Influencing buying decisions early through visibility without a click

It’s not just about traffic. It’s about being part of the decision journey.

6. What’s the biggest mistake people still make with SEO in 2025?

Treating it like a solo channel.Most people still optimise content only for Google rankings. But Google isn’t the only “search engine” anymore. ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, and even TikTok search are part of the discovery mix.

If you're only thinking about SEO, you're already behind.

Final Thought

The rules of visibility have changed. It’s no longer enough to be found, you need to be trusted, quoted, and chosen by both AI and real humans.

Don’t just optimise for clicks. Optimise to be the answer.

Want help applying this to your brand or website?

Reach out to us on hello@aenigm3labs.com — this is our specialty.

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Chamo Hewawasam

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