Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): The AI Search Podcast

AEO/GEO is Just SEO: GSC Data Confirms It

September 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the first few days of 2025, SEO consultant and agency owner Jason Barnard ran an experiment that he calls "absolutely terrifying" for anyone who treats AI search as a separate channel. He took a client’s Google Search Console data, ran it through the AI Overviews that Google had already generated for those same queries, and found that the overlap between what ranks in traditional blue-link search and what gets cited in AI Overviews is between 94 and 96 percent. His conclusion, repeated throughout the conversation: "AEO is just SEO." There is no separate discipline called Answer Engine Optimization or Generative Engine Optimization. There is only search optimization, and the data shows that the same signals that win in Google’s classic results also win in its AI-generated answers.

The 94 Percent Overlap and What It Means

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What you'll learn

1 (00:20) **Host Intro and Thesis Statement** - The host introduces the episode's core argument: AEO/GEO is just SEO, and Google Search Console (GSC) data confirms this.
2 (01:30) **Guest Introduction: The Data Expert** - The host brings on a guest who specializes in analyzing GSC data for AEO/GEO performance.
3 (03:15) **The Core Data Point: GSC Shows the Same Queries** - The guest reveals that GSC data shows the exact same search queries driving traffic to both traditional search results and AI-generated answers.
4 (05:40) **Mechanism Breakdown: How AI Answers Pull from SEO Rankings** - The guest explains the technical mechanism by which AI search engines use existing SEO rankings to generate answers.
5 (08:10) **Evidence: Correlation Between SERP Position and AI Citation Rate** - The guest presents data showing a strong correlation between a page's position in traditional SERPs and its citation rate in AI answers.
6 (11:25) **Practical Implication: Stop Chasing "AEO-Specific" Tactics** - The guest advises listeners to stop investing in tactics marketed as exclusively "AEO" or "GEO" and instead double down on core SEO fundamentals.
7 (14:00) **Common Misconception: "But AI Answers Are Different from Snippets"** - The host raises a common objection: AI answers are longer and more synthesized than featured snippets, so they must require different optimization.

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Guests on this episode

Jason Barnard

Show Notes

Is AI search a new discipline or an evolution of SEO? We break down the data from Google Search Console and industry experts to see if AEO/GEO is truly just SEO.