What happened
As online search transitions from traditional blue links to direct AI-generated answers, marketers face a new challenge: AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). Recently, the industry debate has centered on choosing the ideal tool for this task. Profound has emerged as a niche solution dedicated exclusively to monitoring brand presence within LLMs (Large Language Models), while Semrush, the SEO industry giant, has launched AI Solutions to provide a broader overview. The choice between a specialist tool and a generalist suite now depends on the complexity of a company's content strategy.
Technology context
AEO represents the evolution of traditional SEO. While SEO focuses on Google's algorithms to rank web pages, AEO targets Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms used by engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Google Gemini. The technology behind Profound is based on "mention probability," analyzing how often and in what context an AI cites a brand. Semrush leverages its vast crawling data to identify "citations" within AI Overviews, providing a bridge between classic and generative search.
Why it matters
The industry impact is significant because the way users consume information has radically changed. If a brand does not appear in the response provided by an AI assistant, it practically does not exist for a growing segment of the audience.
- For Businesses: It is essential to understand where they are losing ground to competitors in the AI ecosystem.
- For Specialists: It requires a shift from keyword optimization to entity and semantic authority optimization.
Key terms explained
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): The process of optimizing content to be extracted and presented as a direct answer by generative search engines.
- LLM (Large Language Model): AI models trained on massive datasets to understand and generate human-like text (e.g., GPT-4).
- Share of Model (SoM): A new metric that measures how frequently a brand is mentioned by an AI model compared to its competitors.
- AI Overviews (formerly SGE): AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of Google Search results.
Impact
In the short term, we will see a fragmentation of marketing budgets, with companies allocating specific resources for AEO audits. In the medium term, tools like Profound will become indispensable for Online Reputation Management (ORM), as AI responses can influence public perception much faster than a simple blog post. Semrush will likely remain the standard choice for teams seeking fluid integration between SEO, PPC, and AI.
What's next
We expect "AI visibility" to become a standard KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in digital marketing reports. The future will likely bring consolidation, where large suites will acquire startups specialized in AEO. Furthermore, optimization will no longer be just about text, but about how AI "understands" structured data and user reviews to validate a brand's credibility.
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Educational analysis generated with AI and editorially reviewed.
Sources
- HubSpot Marketing Blog
- Search Engine Journal (AEO Trends)
- Semrush AI Solutions Documentation