AI is transforming how people find, trust, and choose businesses online. It’s no longer about ranking for clicks; it’s about becoming the answer. That’s what AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is all about: helping your business show up, get cited, and get chosen by AI systems like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and Perplexity. In this new era, the brands that teach AI who they are, and why they’re credible, will win the client acquisition game.
Webinar Recording: From SEO to AEO: How AI Is Redefining Client Acquisition
Now that AI is rewriting how people find information, let’s look at what that means for search itself, and why “ranking” is being replaced by “answering.
Related Article: The New SEO Playbook: How AEO, GEO, and HubSpot Help You Show Up in Google AI and ChatGPT
Search isn’t just ten blue links anymore; it’s answers synthesized by AI (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and others). That’s why we see a world where ~60% of Google searches end with zero clicks, ~70% of B2B buyers decide before contacting sales, and teams report higher conversion from AI-influenced leads (those who arrive pre-educated via LLM conversations).
So yes, AI is becoming your new homepage, your brand needs to be the answer, not just the destination. At the same time: don’t freak out. Google search is still massive, ~210× larger than ChatGPT by volume, so you should keep (and strengthen) your SEO while optimizing for AI answers.
With AI changing how people search, it’s natural to wonder, does SEO still matter, or are we entering an entirely new playbook?
Thin posts, keyword stuffing, and duplicate “city pages” won’t cut it. What still wins: helpful, human content that directly answers buyer questions, with clean technicals and clear CTAs. The fundamentals of inbound still apply, and now they also help you surface in Google AI and ChatGPT.
SEO isn’t dead, it’s evolving. That evolution has a name: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Here’s what it means and why it matters.
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is the natural evolution of SEO, the shift from ranking for clicks to being cited as the answer in AI-driven experiences. Traditional SEO focused on keywords, backlinks, and web traffic from Google search results. AEO takes it a step further by optimizing your content so that AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews can understand, trust, and quote your business as an authoritative source.
In an era where users don’t just “search”, they ask, your goal isn’t only to appear on the first page of Google. It’s to become the trusted voice AI assistants repeat when someone asks, questions to AI related to the solutions you provide to your ideal client's needs.
AEO is about building the right signals for AI to identify and recommend you:
Human-first content: Clear, conversational answers that reflect expertise and authenticity.
Structured data: Schema markup (FAQs, How-Tos, Knowledge Base, VideoObject, etc.) that helps AI models understand your site’s hierarchy and purpose. You can test your structured data schema code with this Google Rich Results Test.
Entity optimization: Consistent mentions of your brand, location (e.g., Sarasota, FL), products, and people across the web to reinforce credibility.
Multimedia context: AI engines don’t just crawl text — they analyze videos, podcasts, and transcripts. Every webinar, blog, or video series can be an AEO asset.
Authority loops: Cited backlinks, customer testimonials, and verified reviews that feed AI’s trust layer.
In short, AEO is about teaching AI who you are, what you do, and why you’re credible, the same way we’ve taught Google for years, but through a more semantic, multi-format lens.
Understanding AEO is one thing, but how do you actually operationalize it inside your marketing engine? HubSpot’s Loop Framework shows us how.
The Loop Marketing Framework is HubSpot’s evolution of inbound for the AI-first world, a system designed for marketers who want to stay human while scaling intelligently with AI.
Instead of thinking of marketing as a straight line (attract → convert → close → delight), HubSpot reframed it as a continuous loop, one where every engagement fuels smarter personalization, faster iteration, and stronger relationships.
Related Article: Loop Marketing vs Inbound Marketing (From SEO to AEO)
Express – Give AI a real point of view to work with. Define your voice, your stance, and the human expertise behind your content. AI can’t invent authenticity — it amplifies what already exists.
Tailor – Use data and AI to deliver one-to-one relevance at scale. Personalize your content, offers, and experiences based on real behavioral data inside HubSpot.
Amplify – Diversify your distribution: video, webinars, podcasts, social, newsletters, blogs, all optimized for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) so AI systems can understand and surface your brand.
Evolve – Move fast. Test, learn, iterate. Use HubSpot’s CRM insights, attribution, and automation to improve performance in real time.
Related Article: HubSpot’s New Playbook: The Loop, a Smart CRM, and AI Agents Built for Hybrid Teams [INBOUND25]
Even as we adapt to new tools and AI-driven frameworks, the foundation of great marketing hasn’t changed, it’s only become more important.
Even as we embrace AI and AEO, the foundation that made inbound marketing successful hasn’t changed, it’s just more important than ever.
The They Ask, You Answer philosophy still reigns. Answer your customers’ real questions directly and transparently. In an AI-powered search world, this content becomes fuel for both human trust and AI visibility. The more clearly you articulate your expertise, the more confidently Google AI and ChatGPT will cite you as a credible source.
Strong SEO is not obsolete — it’s the foundation of AEO. Well-structured pages, quality backlinks, schema, and relevant keyword targeting still help you rank, and they now influence how AI engines interpret and summarize your brand. In fact, your SEO metadata and headings help AI understand your authority, giving you double the ROI on every optimized page.
Clarity beats cleverness, your audience should immediately understand who you help, what problem you solve, and what action to take next.
Use clear StoryBrand-style messaging, fast-loading pages, and strong CTAs, whether that’s forms, chatbots, or call tracking. Every interaction still needs to flow seamlessly into your CRM, where automation and AI can continue the conversation.
In a world where AI can fake nearly anything, authenticity is your advantage. Show your face. Use your voice. Let your team’s personality shine through video, webinars, and podcasts. These aren’t just engagement tools, they’re proof of humanity, the element AI can’t replicate.
Your audience, and the algorithms, both crave real people creating real value. That’s what turns content from information into connection.
Related Article: How to Use HubSpot, StoryBrand, and They Ask You Answer for Marketing Success
And remember: you don’t have to relearn everything you’re building on inbound best practices.
Once your strategy and structure are in place, the next differentiator is something AI can’t fake, your authenticity.
Video proves you’re real, your voice, face, and expertise, and one strong recording can fuel blogs, podcasts, short clips, emails, and more. These serve as signals for AI to cite you alongside AI answers.
So, how do you bring all this to life, consistently, efficiently, and measurably? The answer lies in building a content engine designed for both humans and AI.
Related Article: From SEO to AEO: Optimizing Your Content Engine with Video, Webinars & Podcasts
State of Video Report: Video Marketing Statistics for 2025
A simple content engine loop that works for AEO:
Video-engaged leads close 3x higher into clients than non-viewer. (Case Study)
Now let’s get tactical. Here’s a simple AEO checklist to help you take your next steps today.
Pro-tip: Ask AI how to optimize for AI (meta prompting) and feed it your transcript, slides, past articles, and brand voice to speed up drafting, then human-edit for flow.
Related Article: The New SEO Playbook: How AEO, GEO, and HubSpot Help You Show Up in Google AI and ChatGPT
As AI continues to reshape how people search and buy, the playbook is simple: keep your SEO strong, build authority loops with video and webinars, and optimize every answer for both humans and machines. AEO isn’t a one-time project, it’s an ongoing practice. Start small, measure often, and evolve fast.
As this conversation has evolved, we’ve gathered a lot of great questions from marketers and CMOs like you. Let’s answer the most common ones directly.
1) Is SEO dead?
No, lazy SEO is. Keep strong SEO fundamentals and layer AEO tactics to surface in AI answers.
2) What exactly is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimization helps your brand be quoted in AI answers (Google AI/SGE, ChatGPT). It relies on strong SEO fundamentals, questions/entities, schema, and multi-format proof (video, transcripts).
3) Should we focus on keywords or questions?
Both, but start shifting to questions and entities. Keywords still matter, but AI indexes answers and the nouns it recognizes (people, places, brands, products, concepts).
4) What is the Loop Marketing framework?
Express → Tailor → Amplify → Evolve. It’s modern inbound for the AI era that helps you create, distribute, and iterate on human, answer-ready content.
5) How does video help AEO and SEO?
Video proves you’re real, fuels multi-channel content, and is increasingly surfaced alongside AI answers. Always publish transcripts + chapters.
6) What’s the quickest way to optimize for AI today?
Keep doing great SEO. Plus start with a handful of priority pages: add FAQ sections + FAQPage schema, embed a chaptered video with a transcript, and improve internal links.
7) Can I use FAQ schema for questions that aren’t visible on the page?
No, don’t fake it. Only mark up FAQs that appear in the visible content. That would be like keyword stuffing a page with text in the same color of the background (which Google penalizes)
8) Where do I manage schema in HubSpot?
Leverage HubSpot’s blog/KB structures (semi-structured by design) and add custom JSON-LD in templates or modules for FAQs/VideoObject/Service. See HubSpot’s structured data docs referenced in the session. (How to Use Structured Data in HubSpot to Improve SEO)
9) What cadence works: webinar series vs. video series?
A monthly webinar can fuel weeks of content; a weekly series accelerates momentum. Webinars are easier to produce than studio video and drive compounding reach via on-demand + clips.
10) How do we promote webinars effectively?
Use multi-channel distribution: LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook/IG, email to your list, and partner promotions. Reuse promo clips before and after the event. Webinar series create momentum for easier cross promotion.
11) We have an email list but struggle to get webinar signups, any ideas?
Improve send-time optimization with Seventh Sense (integrated into HubSpot), segment by past engagement, include value-first subject lines, and nurture with educational clips. Tie HubSpot workflows to video engagement (25/50/75/100% watched, CTA clicks) to prioritize warm contacts.
12) Does AI replace content creation?
No, use AI to scale, not replace. Transcribe your webinar, feed the transcript to ChatGPT with brand voice + slides, generate drafts (blog/FAQs/clips), then human-edit.
13) Is Google still worth it if AI is the future?
Yes. Google search is still enormous (~210× bigger than ChatGPT), and excellent SEO is the bedrock of AEO.
Want to see these ideas in action? Join our next live sessions to go deeper on SEO/AEO, Loop Marketing, HubSpot optimization, and AI-powered strategy.
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