I left HubSpot’s GROW Europe event with a feeling I haven’t had in a long time: the sense that something fundamental in marketing has shifted. Not a trend. Not a new tool. Something deeper.
For the first time in a long time, the way people discover information, evaluate options and make decisions no longer maps to the content strategies most teams still rely on. And as I sat listening to the sessions, that realisation hit hard.
Something big is happening.
And AEO is the name we are starting to use for the new playbook.
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation, is the practice of shaping your content so AI tools can use it when generating answers.
SEO tries to rank.
AEO tries to be included.
If AI is the new front door to information, AEO is how you position yourself on the welcome mat.
| SEO | AEO |
|---|---|
| Aim: rank in the top results | Aim: be part of the answer |
| Powered by keywords and backlinks | Powered by clarity, authority and repetition |
| Optimises for website visits | Optimises for visibility in AI conversations |
| Trust comes from domain strength |
Trust comes from multi-source credibility |
I realised at GROW that we, as marketers, have been optimising for a world that no longer exists.
Here are the facts that made it click for me:
AIOs show up on nearly 6 in 10 searches. Their presence halves CTR.
HubSpot’s broad educational blog content now drives only 28 percent of demand
But their human-first creator content now earns more than 40 million engagements each month
Buyers aren’t starting with your website anymore. They’re watching reviews on YouTube, reading Reddit threads, checking G2, searching LinkedIn comments and asking AI tools for advice.
By the time they reach you, they’ve already formed an opinion.
AEO helps you influence that opinion before they ever land on your site.
This part was my personal lightbulb moment.
AI doesn’t take a question like “What is the best CRM for a small team” and search for one answer. It splits it into dozens of sub-questions.
For example:
What counts as a small team
Which CRMs have high adoption rates
What tools integrate easily
What onboarding experience matters most
Which products are rated highest for customer support
It then finds answers to each one, evaluates which sources are trustworthy, combines the information and personalises it to the user.
Your content only needs to answer one of those sub-questions well to be included in the final answer. That is the opportunity.
Instead of creating another long, catch-all guide, try creating content that directly address the real questions your audience is already asking. Start by reviewing the information you have - your sales calls, support chats and CRM notes, explore the forums where your audience hangs out. Turn common questions into specific, answer-first pieces of content with clear formatting.
AEO is not a trend. It is the natural evolution of how people search and how AI processes information.
For me, GROW Europe wasn’t just another marketing event. It was a reminder that our content strategies must adapt to the way people actually make decisions today.
If we want to stay visible in a world where answers are generated, not searched for, AEO is where the shift begins.