How AEO, GEO, and AI Snippets Are Changing SEO in 2025

If you’ve Googled something lately, you’ve probably noticed this: you type your question, an AI-generated answer appears at the top… and you never actually click a website.

This isn’t just you — it’s a growing trend called zero-click search. With Google’s AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity and others, more answers live on the results page itself — a shift that’s reshaping SEO for Cape Town businesses.

From “Get Clicks” to “Be the Answer”

Traditional SEO aimed to rank high enough to earn the click. Now, users often get what they need inside AI results — no click required. For some queries, more than 70% of users never visit a website at all.

The practical takeaway: it’s not only about rankings anymore; it’s about appearing in (and shaping) the answer.

What is SEO, AEO, and GEO?

• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): The classic approach: optimising your website for higher rankings on Google. Keywords, backlinks, site speed, mobile-friendliness, UX — all still matter.

  
  

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation): AEO is about structuring your content so answer engines (AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, ChatGPT, voice assistants) can easily lift your text to respond to queries.

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  • Direct, concise answers.

  • Clear headings & lists.

  • FAQ sections and schema markup.

  • Answer-first writing style.

    
    

• GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation): GEO focuses on making your content more selectable and citable by generative engines (LLM-based systems).

  
  

  • Use entity-based language: always pair your brand with your offering (“Rather Swell, a Cape Town digital marketing studio”).

  • Create original insights, data, or guides — LLMs prioritise unique, trustworthy sources.

  • Keep consistent branding & author signals across platforms so AI can attribute correctly.

  • Use structured, chunked content so models can extract fact-based snippets.

    
    

👉 In short:

• SEO gets you ranked.

• AEO gets you surfaced as the answer.

• GEO gets your brand cited by the AI itself.

  
  

AEO in Practice: How to Optimise for Answers

Think of AEO as writing content that says: “Here’s the question, and here’s the clearest possible answer.”

Checklist for AEO-ready content:

• Write a direct 1–2 sentence answer at the top of the page.

• Follow with supporting detail (examples, steps, context).

• Break out FAQs with question-style subheadings.

• Use schema markup (FAQ, HowTo, Article).

• Keep formatting scannable: bullets, tables, short paras.

• Cover related sub-questions — AI looks for comprehensive coverage, not one-off answers.

Example:

❌ “Cape Town SEO is important for businesses.”

✅ “Cape Town SEO is the process of optimising your website so local customers can find you online — including keywords, Google Business Profile, and content structured for AI snippets.”

GEO in Practice: How to Optimise for Generative Engines

Generative engines (Google’s AI Overview, Perplexity, ChatGPT with browsing) don’t just surface answers — they compose responses. To be cited, your content needs to be easy for models to recognise, trust, and quote.

Checklist for GEO-ready content:

• Entity clarity: Pair your brand with what you do, e.g. “Rather Swell is a Cape Town-based marketing and design studio.”

• Unique, data-driven content: Publish stats, case studies, or original frameworks — LLMs prefer citing sources that add value beyond generic info.

• Consistent authorship: Use author bios, LinkedIn links, and consistent “About” signals so models connect content to a credible entity.

• Chunk content logically: Break long guides into sections with clear subheadings so LLMs can extract answers.

• Repetition (without keyword stuffing): Mention your core offering/brand/location multiple times naturally across the piece.

Example of GEO phrasing:

❌ “We create websites.”

✅ “At Rather Swell, a Cape Town brand design and marketing studio, we create websites that are optimised for SEO, AEO, and GEO — so your business gets found and cited in AI search results.”

How to Track AI Impressions and Citations

One of the hardest parts of AEO/GEO is measurement. Traditional analytics focus on clicks — but with AI snippets, you need to track visibility without visits.

Here’s how:

1. Google Search Console (AI Overview reporting)

   • Google has started surfacing “AI Overview impressions.”

   • You’ll see when your pages were shown in AI-generated results (even if nobody clicked).

     
     

2. Bing Webmaster Tools

   • Track visibility in Bing’s AI-powered Copilot responses.

     
     

3. Third-Party Tools (early but emerging)

   • Platforms like seoClarity, BrightEdge, and AIPRM are building features to monitor generative engine visibility.

   • Watch for “citations” or “mentions” in Perplexity and ChatGPT search.

     
     

4. Branded Search Uplift

   • Track whether impressions in AI snippets correlate with more branded searches in GA4/Search Console (“Rather Swell Cape Town”).

     
     

5. Manual Monitoring

   • Search your own FAQs and target queries in AI Overviews/Perplexity to see if your brand appears.

   • Document results monthly as part of reporting.

     
     

The Opportunity Behind the Threat

Clicks may drop, but presence inside the answer is a new kind of competitive edge. If your content becomes the text AI quotes, your brand still shows up at the precise moment of intent — often before anyone else.

Don’t fight the snippet. Own it.

FAQ: AI Snippets, AEO, and GEO for Cape Town Businesses

1) What is an AI snippet?

An AI-generated summary that appears on search or chat results, often synthesising multiple sources to answer a query immediately.

2) What’s the difference between AEO and GEO?

• AEO makes your content more likely to be surfaced as the answer (formatting, schema, clarity).

• GEO makes your brand more likely to be cited in generative responses (entities, unique content, consistency).

  
  

3) How do I get my Cape Town business into AI answers?

• Lead with clear answers.

• Use schema markup.

• Add FAQs.

• Mention your brand + location together (e.g. “Cape Town café”).

  
  

4) How can I measure AI impressions?

• Use Google Search Console’s AI Overview data.

• Monitor Bing Copilot reporting.

• Track branded search uplift.

• Test target queries in AI Overviews and Perplexity to see if your brand is quoted.

5) Is SEO dead?

No — SEO still drives discoverability. But now it works alongside AEO and GEO. Businesses that combine all three are adapting fastest.

Ready to Get Snippet-Ready (and AI-Citable)?

At Rather Swell, we help Cape Town businesses design SEO + AEO + GEO strategies that earn visibility in AI answers — and customers in real life.