SEO, AEO, and GEO: HOW TO INCLUDE AI RESPONSES
An interview with Matteo Ferrari, Chief Marketing Solutions Officer, and Damiano Antonelli, Chief Creative Officer
Online search no longer looks like it did a few years ago.
It’s no longer a page full of blue links: today, it’s a conversation.
With the rise of Large Language Models, Google AI Mode, and new generative formats such as AI Overviews and Web Guide, brands no longer just need to “rank” — they need to be chosen. They must become the source that AI spontaneously cites when constructing an answer.
To understand how search is changing and what it really means to optimise for this new era, we spoke with Matteo Ferrari and Damiano Antonelli.
Is search really changing, or is this just another evolution?
Matteo Ferrari has no doubts: this is not a simple update, but a deep transformation.
“For years, SEO was a race for rankings: keywords, links, performance. Today, the goal is no longer to be first, but to be inside the answer.”
With generative content, the concept of the SERP as we knew it no longer holds.
The competition is no longer for position, but for being recognised as a trusted source within the AI-generated summary.
If content is not clear, not consistent, or not “citable,” AI won’t use it.
And if it doesn’t use it… it’s as if it doesn’t exist.
From a creative perspective, what changes?
Everything changes: the way we write, design, and even think about content.
As Damiano Antonelli explains:
“We no longer write only to engage people. We also write so that a machine can interpret us correctly and speak on our behalf.”
Creativity doesn’t disappear, it transforms.
It requires more precision, more structure, more verifiability.
Vague or poorly contextualised content risks not being selected by LLMs — and in a scenario where the generated answer matters more than ranking, this makes all the difference.
AEO and GEO: evolutions of SEO or entirely new disciplines?
SEO remains the foundation. No doubt about it.
But today, it’s no longer enough.
Ferrari sums it up this way:
SEO → helps you get found
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) → helps you get answered
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) → helps you get told
GEO is the most advanced frontier: it means designing content, data, and structure so that AI wants to include the brand in its own narrative.
Is being “citable” the new success metric?
According to both of them, yes — and it matters more than traffic itself.
LLMs work through retrieval → ranking → synthesis.
You don’t need ten positions: one is enough, inside the answer.
AI favours content that is:
clear
modular
rich in verifiable data
aligned with other authoritative sources
Ferrari explains it with an effective image:
“If a sentence can be extracted and still remain true outside its context, then it’s an excellent candidate to enter an AI-generated answer.”
What does this mean for the customer journey?
The journey is changing just as much as search.
“We are moving from B2C to B2AI,” Ferrari observes.
More and more users are delegating discovery, comparison, and selection to assistants.
Brands enter the game much later, when the user already has a shortlist built by the machine.
This is where Antonelli introduces a key concept:
“Content becomes a currency of trust. The clearer, more consistent, and more reliable you are, the more the AI trusts you.”
Do the data confirm this shift?
Yes — and in a surprising way.
Traffic coming from AI is still limited, but it performs extremely well:
more pages viewed
lower bounce rate
higher conversions
The user arrives already “educated” by AI.
The website is no longer just a place of discovery, but a space for final validation.
What role do structured data and product feeds play?
A central one.
Feeds are the language brands use to speak to algorithms.
And in this language, a single mistake can be costly.
“A poorly written attribute can make a product disappear from an AI recommendation,” Ferrari points out.
Schema.org, cross-channel consistency, and constant updates are not technical details: they are strategic levers of visibility.
And creativity? Where does it fit in such a “rational” world?
Creativity doesn’t disappear — it changes shape.
“On social media it remains emotional, identity-driven, and engaging. For LLMs, it becomes semantic and precise,” Antonelli states.
It’s a double grammar:
storytelling for people
clarity and completeness for machines
The best brands will know how to speak both languages.
And social media? What role do they play in GEO?
A huge one.
Sources such as YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram are already used by models.
There is no longer a clear distinction between SEO content and social content: everything is potentially indexable, interpretable, and reusable.
Ferrari sums it up well:
“Every piece of content is a possible signal for AI.”
What should brands do to avoid falling behind?
The first step is changing perspective.
“We need to stop thinking of content as output. Content is infrastructure, it’s an ecosystem,” Antonelli states.
Modular content, accessible data, consistency, and openness become central elements.
And partnerships with AI platforms stop being PR initiatives and become part of the decision-making process.
The challenge of the coming years, in one sentence
Ferrari:
“Not being found, but being selected.”
Antonelli:
“Becoming the AI’s logical choice, even before the user’s.”
Conclusion
SEO is not dead. It has just changed its voice.
It has become conversational, generative, selective.
And in a world where AI decides what to show, the winners won’t be those who shout the loudest, but those who know how to be clearer, more consistent, and more useful.
Brands that build readable and reliable content will be the ones AI chooses to cite — and, as a result, the ones that truly make it into the answers of the future.
If you want to explore the topic further and access more in-depth data and insights, read our full article on Engage↗️.
