Lately, the conversations I’m having with professional services firms have shifted. SEO isn’t the buzzword everyone is throwing around anymore. AEO is.
Answer Engine Optimization is showing up in more meetings, more articles, and more vendor pitches. And while the term may be newer, the core issue I’m seeing hasn’t changed.
Firms are still struggling with consistency, relevance, and expectations around growth.
AEO Is an Evolution of SEO, Not a Replacement
AEO sounds new, but in practice, it’s an extension of what good SEO should have been all along.
Search engines are no longer just indexing pages. They’re answering questions. Whether it’s AI summaries, featured snippets, or voice search, the common thread is this: the firms that clearly answer real questions are the ones getting visibility.
Where I see firms go wrong is treating AEO as another switch to flip. They want to “optimize for AI” without changing how they create content.
If your website isn’t already built around answering the questions your clients ask every week, AEO won’t magically fix that. It simply rewards clarity, structure, and usefulness.
Consistency Still Matters More Than Any Algorithm Update
Even with AEO in the spotlight, consistency remains the biggest growth lever.
I still see firms publish one strong piece of content, wait for results, then go quiet. The problem isn’t the quality. It’s the gap.
Answer engines learn patterns the same way search engines do. Firms that show up regularly with clear, relevant answers become trusted sources. Firms that appear sporadically don’t.
Consistency doesn’t mean volume. It means reliably addressing the same core topics your clients care about, over time, in a way that’s easy to understand.
Realistic Growth Requires a Shift in How Success Is Measured
One of the biggest disconnects I see is how firms measure marketing success.
With AEO, the goal isn’t always a click. Sometimes it’s visibility, credibility, or being referenced as the source of an answer. That can feel uncomfortable for firms used to tracking leads only.
Early signs that things are working often look like:
Prospects mentioning something they “saw online”
More informed first calls
Shorter sales cycles
Better-fit inquiries
Those signals usually appear before lead volume spikes.
What’s Actually Working Right Now
The firms seeing steady growth aren’t chasing every new term or tool. They’re focused on fundamentals that AEO and SEO both reward:
They organize content around real client questions.
They write in plain language, not marketing speak.
They show up consistently, even when results feel quiet.
They treat their website as a resource, not a brochure.
Most importantly, they understand that visibility compounds. Authority builds before demand shows up.
The Bottom Line
AEO may be the new buzzword, but the strategy behind it isn’t new.
Professional services firms don’t need more tactics. They need clearer answers, consistent execution, and realistic expectations around growth.
The firms that embrace that approach are the ones positioning themselves to be found — whether by search engines, answer engines, or the clients already looking for them.