Would you ever let a random stranger decide how your brand should look, sound, and feel on your website? No.
Would you let someone you don't know write your LinkedIn profile? Obviously not.
Then why are brands happily letting ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini decide their entire brand narrative today? 🤭
Welcome to 2026 — where your customer's "best friend" is an LLM…
…and that best friend is already telling them stories about you.
Correct stories? Wrong stories? Outdated stories? You have no idea.
That's the problem.
And AI Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the solution.
Let's break this down in simple, human language — the way I'd explain it on stage or over coffee with a CMO.
🚀 The New Reality: Users Don't Search Anymore — They Converse
People don't type keywords like:
"best term plan India 2026."
Instead, they ask:
"Hey, which is the best term insurance for a 37-year-old with a family and moderate income?"
Or:
"Which fintech app is safest for international travel?"
Or:
"What are the top EVs under ₹15 lakh with the longest range?"
These aren't searches.
These are personalised conversations.
And LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini are answering them with absolute confidence.
If your brand isn't in these answers?
You don't exist.
Let's decode the three layers shaping this shift: SEO → GEO → AEO.
🧠 SEO vs GEO vs AEO — The Only Explanation You'll Ever Need
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
The old world. Ranking on Google. Keywords. Backlinks. Blue links.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
The transitional world. Creating content so ChatGPT/Gemini can generate accurate summaries and explanations about you.
AEO (AI Engine Optimisation)
The future.
Owning your brand narrative inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini…
Tracking visibility, citations, sentiment…
Optimising top 100 prompts that matter…
Driving agentic commerce and zero-click conversions.
This is the PingAura world.
🔍 SEO vs GEO vs AEO — The Definitive Table
| Feature | SEO | GEO | AEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| What It Is | Ranking pages on Google | Preparing structured content so LLMs give correct answers | Full brand optimisation inside AI engines |
| Primary Goal | Website traffic | Accurate generative answers | Visibility, accuracy, commerce & attribution |
| Optimised For | Google SERP | ChatGPT/Gemini's answer construction | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini answer ecosystems |
| User Behaviour | Keyword search | Conversational query | Hyper-personalised decision journeys |
| Brand Control | Medium | Low–Medium | High (Visibility + sentiment + citations + flows) |
| Outputs | Blue links | AI-generated summaries | Ranked presence + optimised answers + agentic actions |
| Example | Google ranks your blog on "best term plan" | ChatGPT mentions your plan in top 5 | Perplexity cites your brand #1, compares features, and launches a zero-click commerce flow |
| Success Metric | Clicks | Inclusion | Share of Voice, Visibility Score, Conversions |
| Limitations | Declining search usage | Limited brand influence | Needs structured optimisation + real-time visibility |
| Who Needs It | All websites | Brands with complex info | Every brand selling to AI-driven audiences |
⚠️ Why AEO Is Now a Survival Strategy (Not a Marketing Tactic)
Let me give you real examples.
Example 1 — A Fintech Brand
Prompt on ChatGPT:
"Best instant loan apps in India."
The brand—despite massive spend—did not appear.
Why?
LLMs had no structured, up-to-date info. Competitors dominated.
Outcome: Thousands of lost high-intent users every month.
Example 2 — Ecommerce Beauty Brand
Prompt on Perplexity:
"Best sunscreen for oily skin."
The LLM recommended 5 competitors.
Not the brand running crores in Meta ads.
Why?
No LLM-ready content.
Old reviews and third-party blogs shaped its story.
Outcome: Zero presence in the new decision funnel.
Example 3 — Insurance / BFSI
Prompt:
"Which is the best term insurance for families in India?"
LLMs pulled:
- Outdated claim settlement ratios
- Old pricing
- Competitor-written blog summaries
Outcome: LLMs are shaping financial advice — and you're not even in the room.
🌐 How AEO Actually Works (In Simple Language)
Think of AEO like having your own AI Fractional CMO, but inside every LLM.
1. Visibility Intelligence
We first find out:
- How often LLMs mention you
- What they say about you
- How accurate the info is
- Whether competitors dominate the conversation
- What sources the LLM trusts
This is your AI visibility diagnosis.
2. Optimisation Layer
We then fix everything:
- Wrong answers
- Missing product info
- Bias toward competitors
- Outdated data
- Low-quality citations
- Missing LLM-ready content
We create structured fact frameworks so LLMs finally "know" who you are.
3. Agentic Commerce (2026–2027)
This is the part I'm most excited about.
Soon, your customers will:
Ask → Compare → Decide → Buy
all inside ChatGPT, Gemini & Perplexity.
No website.
No app.
No click.
Just conversation → conversion.
PingAura is building this future today.
4. AI Attribution
We finally show you:
- Traffic influenced by AI engines
- Prompts driving conversions
- Revenue originating from LLM journeys
- ROI of your AI optimisation
This is the holy grail of AI marketing.
📌 ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Gemini — Why You Need AEO for All Three
- ChatGPT → Conversational, personalised, high hallucination risk
- Perplexity → Research-heavy, citation-led, competitor-rich
- Gemini → Google ecosystem aware, structured comparison-driven
Each needs a different optimisation approach.
PingAura unifies all three.
🧡 So… Why Should Brands Start AEO Right Now?
Because the world has already moved on.
✔ Users no longer search. They ask.
✔ AI engines have become the new distribution channel.
✔ If you're not in the top 5 AI answers, you simply don't exist.
✔ Your brand narrative is being written by engines — not by you.
✔ If you don't control it now, you'll pay millions to fix it later.
✔ Zero-click agentic commerce is about to explode.
AEO is not optional.
AEO is survival + growth + category leadership.
🎯 Final Word — From Founder to Founder
The brands that dominate LLMs today will own their industries in 2026–27.
At PingAura.ai, we're building the full stack for this future:
AI Visibility → Optimisation → Agentic Commerce → Attribution.
We help brands:
Be Found. Be Heard. Be Chosen in AI.
This is not the next SEO.
This is the next Internet.
--- By Nishant Bhardwaj — Founder, PingAura.ai