Why AEO is the future of SEO: insights from Ethan Smith
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How do founders get their product recommended by AI assistants?
There is a repeatable playbook: pick the buying prompts you must win, publish the most definitive and specific content on those exact questions, and make sure the sources AI trusts (Reddit, review sites, listicles, YouTube) talk about you. Unlike old SEO, results can appear in weeks because assistants re-retrieve the web constantly, which is exactly why early-stage startups can compete. Start with one platform, usually ChatGPT, measure your share of voice against competitors, and iterate.
Go deeper
18 resources.
What is AEO? (Ahrefs AEO Course, Lesson 1)
Free, no-fluff video course opener that gets a founder from zero to a working AEO vocabulary.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →
How to Rank on ChatGPT, Gemini & AI Search, with ToolJet founder Navaneeth
An Indian open-source founder shares what actually moved AI visibility for his devtool.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →AEO: How to make ChatGPT promote you
A scrappy startup-focused interview on winning AI mentions without an enterprise budget.
Open mixergy.com →James Cadwallader (Profound): This is how to rank in AI search
Concrete ranking tactics from the founder whose platform watches millions of AI answers daily.
Listen on Spotify open.spotify.com →The ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product
The full written playbook behind the most influential AEO podcast episode, with tactics ranked by impact.
Open lennysnewsletter.com →How to get recommended by ChatGPT
A B2B operator's step-by-step AEO playbook, including why Reddit is now ChatGPT's most-cited domain.
Open growthunhinged.com →How to turn ChatGPT into your best pipeline source
Case-study driven follow-up showing how real SaaS teams turned AI answers into pipeline.
Open growthunhinged.com →How Webflow 2x'd Sign-ups From LLMs
The most complete public case study: doubling LLM signups with a documented Reddit and citation strategy.
Open graphite.io →How Vercel 10x'd ChatGPT Traffic to 10% of New Signups in 6 Months
Breaks down exactly what Vercel changed (docs as static HTML, structured answers) to make ChatGPT its fastest-growing channel.
Open aiseotracker.com →I asked 195 B2B go-to-market leaders where they're investing in AEO
Benchmarks what your peers actually spend and do on AEO, so you calibrate effort.
Open linkedin.com →How to Rank on ChatGPT: What Actually Works (Based on Data)
Data-backed list of the signals that correlate with ChatGPT mentions, cutting through vendor folklore.
Open ahrefs.com →ChatGPT Product Recommendations: How to Make Sure You Are One
Practical walkthrough of semantic matching: why use-case-specific pages beat generic product pages in AI answers.
Open blog.hubspot.com →How to Make Sure ChatGPT Recommends Your Products, Not Your Competitor's
A founder-friendly framing of prompt targeting and trusted-source amplification.
Open entrepreneur.com →How to optimize for AI search results in 2026
A current, systematic checklist built on Semrush's own citation research rather than opinion.
Open semrush.com →Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Is The New SEO
Explains the shift from keywords to question clusters, the core mental model behind winning prompts.
Open graphite.io →Answer Engine Optimization and Zero-Click Experiences (course)
A structured course from the team that trains growth leaders at top startups.
Open reforge.com →How to Get Your Brand in ChatGPT's Training Data
Covers the slower, deeper layer: influencing what the model itself knows, not just what it retrieves.
Open seerinteractive.com →Terms in this answer
More in Getting Found in AI Search (AEO/GEO)
- Why does it now matter how ChatGPT and Perplexity describe my startup? 17 →
- Is traditional SEO dead, what should an early-stage startup actually do? 21 →
- How do I find out what ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini currently say about my startup, and track it over time? 21 →
- How do AI assistants actually choose which sources to cite in an answer? 20 →
- Do Reddit, review sites, and press mentions matter more than my own website for AI visibility? 16 →
- Should I publish comparison pages and 'best X' listicles to win AI recommendations? 18 →
- What technical setup does my site need so AI crawlers can find, read, and cite it? 20 →
- Google now answers with AI Overviews and AI Mode. Does my Google strategy change? 17 →
- How do I measure traffic, signups, and revenue coming from AI search? 17 →
- I sell products online. How do I get into ChatGPT Shopping, Perplexity, and agent-driven commerce? 19 →
- ChatGPT says something wrong or outdated about my startup. How do I fix it? 17 →
Also in Starting Up
The same ground, over in Brand, web & content, our Starting Up track.
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