AI SEO FAQ
Straight answers to the questions that come up most before, during, and after an AI SEO engagement.
About this FAQ
This page collects the questions that come up most often across every AI SEO, AEO, and GEO engagement — fundamentals, process, and how results get measured. For questions specific to a particular service, the individual service pages linked throughout this site go into more depth.
Why start here
A fast way to get oriented before booking a call or diving into a specific service page.
Fundamentals covered first
What AI SEO actually is, and how it relates to traditional SEO, AEO, and GEO.
No sales pitch required
Straight, specific answers you can read before ever talking to anyone.
Links to deeper detail
Each answer links out to the relevant service page for anyone who wants to go further.
Where to go next
Once the fundamentals make sense, these are the natural next steps.
- Not sure where you stand today
Start with an AI SEO audit for a full baseline across every major AI engine. - Ready for a plan
Move into an AI SEO strategy engagement for a prioritized, sequenced roadmap. - Want hands-on help
Work directly with an AI SEO consultant for audit, strategy, and implementation together. - Curious about cost
The pricing page breaks down how audit, project, and retainer engagements are scoped.
Why choose Alvin John Ferias for AI SEO
AI search specialist, not a generalist
AEO and GEO are the core of my practice, not a slide added to a traditional SEO deck. I've been tracking how AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity source and cite content since these engines started sending real traffic.
Technical SEO foundation
Structured data, crawl budget, Core Web Vitals, and information architecture are the backbone of both traditional and AI search visibility — that technical grounding doesn't get skipped.
Schema and structured data depth
Most of what an AI model 'knows' about a page it learns from structured data and clean HTML semantics, not just prose. Schema implementation is done properly, validated, and monitored — not templated and forgotten.
Visibility measured across every engine that matters
Reporting covers Google (organic and AI Overviews), ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude — not just a rankings dashboard for ten blue links.
Strategy built for your business, not a template
Every engagement starts with your specific entity, competitors, and industry — the audit, the roadmap, and the content plan are built around what your business actually needs to be cited for.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI SEO in simple terms?+
AI SEO is optimizing a website so AI-powered search and chat tools — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude — can find, understand, and cite it when answering a relevant question, in addition to ranking well in traditional search.
What's the difference between AEO, GEO, and AI SEO?+
AI SEO is the umbrella term for the whole discipline. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) focuses specifically on being selected as a direct answer in chat, voice, and featured snippets. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the broader practice of influencing how favorably and accurately you're cited inside any generative AI output.
Do AI search engines use the same ranking factors as Google?+
There's significant overlap — crawlability, structured data, and content quality matter to both — but AI engines weigh entity clarity, answer-first formatting, and schema markup more heavily than a traditional ranking algorithm does.
How do I know if AI engines are already citing my site?+
Run a set of real customer questions through ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google directly and see whether and how your site is referenced. An AI SEO audit formalizes this into a repeatable benchmark across every major engine.
Can I block AI crawlers if I don't want my content used?+
Yes, robots.txt directives can block GPTBot, Google-Extended, PerplexityBot, and ClaudeBot individually. Doing so removes the possibility of being cited by that engine, so it's worth weighing the tradeoff before blocking.
Is AI SEO relevant for every industry?+
Most industries see some AI search volume, but the size of the opportunity varies. Categories with high research or comparison intent — software, healthcare, legal, ecommerce — tend to see the clearest early impact.
How much does AI SEO typically cost?+
Pricing depends on site size, current technical condition, and scope — see the pricing page for how audit, project, and retainer engagements are structured.
How long before AI SEO shows results?+
Technical and schema changes can affect AI crawler behavior within weeks. Measurable citation frequency improvements typically take two to four months, since AI models re-crawl and retrain on their own schedules.
Related AI SEO resources
Ready to show up where AI answers live?
Book a free 30-minute strategy call and get a clear read on where you stand across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.