SEO Fundamentals to Succeed in AI-Driven Search

Todd Friesen, a well-known figure in the digital marketing world, has outlined seven key fundamentals for succeeding in AI-powered search. He believes there’s no reason to make things overly complicated.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Friesen emphasised that the same basic principles that work for traditional search engines are just as effective when it comes to AI search. His post quickly attracted attention, receiving numerous comments and well over a hundred likes.

This reaction suggests that many professionals in the SEO community agree with his view—there’s no need to rebrand SEO or treat AI search as an entirely new discipline.

Who Is Todd Friesen?

Todd Friesen has built an impressive career in the SEO industry, having worked with major companies like Salesforce and other leading agencies. He’s widely respected for his deep knowledge and experience in the field.

Like myself, Todd once served as a moderator on the old WebmasterWorld Forums. In fact, even though he’s a bit younger, I still see him as a senior figure in the SEO world due to his longstanding contributions.

Todd also helped pioneer SEO podcasting, co-hosting the well-known SEO Rockstars show alongside Greg Boser—another prominent name in the industry.

AEO – Answer Engine Optimization

There’s currently a rush to define what it means to optimise web content for AI-powered search engines, yet there’s little justification for coining new terms. Despite this, the industry now has several labels that essentially refer to the same process.

Some of the names floating around include AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), AIO (AI Optimisation), CEO (Chat Engine Optimisation), GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), and LMO (Language Model Optimisation).

Many in the SEO community agree that the principles behind optimising for AI search engines are not fundamentally different from those used for traditional search engines. Even platforms like Perplexity AI, which focus on AI search, rely on familiar ranking signals—such as a version of Google’s PageRank—to assess authority and relevance.

Todd Friesen recently echoed this sentiment in a post on LinkedIn. He argued that success with AI search still relies on tried-and-tested SEO basics, saying: “It is basically fundamental SEO and fundamental brand building. Can we stop overcomplicating it?”

He then outlined what’s really required: clean code (including HTML and schema), a fast and responsive website, high-quality content, proper keyword research, alignment with brand marketing, link building, and robust analytics that focus on conversions. In other words, it’s about sticking to the essentials and consistently applying them.

SEO For AI = The Same SEO Fundamentals

Todd Friesen has a valid point. While it’s possible to debate some of the finer details, the core structure of SEO—whether it’s aimed at traditional search engines or AI-driven platforms—boils down to seven key principles.

Digital marketer Rosy Callejas shared a similar view, commenting on LinkedIn that the growing list of terms feels excessive. “Too many names! SEO vs AEO vs GEO,” she remarked, highlighting the confusion caused by overlapping terminology.

Kevin Doory, Director of SEO at RazorFish, offered a more grounded take: “The ones that talk about what they do, can change the names to whatever they want. The rest of us will just do the darn things.” His comment reflects a sentiment felt by many in the industry—get the work done rather than rebranding it.

SEO Consultant Don Rhoades echoed this outlook, saying, “Still SEO after all these (failed) attempts to distance from it by ‘thought leaders’ – eg: inbound marketing, growth hacking, and whatever other nomenclature du jour they decide to cook up next.”

Adding a touch of humour, Ryan Jones, Senior Vice President of SEO at Razorfish and founder of SERPrecon.com, criticised one of the newer names: “GEO is a terrible name,” he wrote, underlining the absurdity of constantly rebranding a discipline that hasn’t fundamentally changed.

Pushback On AEO Elsewhere

A recent conversation on the social platform Bluesky drew attention when Google’s John Mueller weighed in on the motivations behind the growing hype surrounding new SEO-related terms.

Preeti Gupta shared her perspective on the platform, expressing surprise at the way some people are framing the discussion around GEO, AEO, and SEO. She wrote, “It is absolutely wild to me that in this debate of GEO/AEO and SEO, everyone is saying that building a brand is not a requisite for SEO, but it is important for GEO/AEO.”

She went on to criticise the assumption that brand-building is a new requirement brought on by AI developments. “Like bro, chill. This AI stuff didn’t invent the need for building a brand. It existed way before it. smh.”

John Mueller then responded with a thought-provoking take on the matter. He said, “You don’t build an audience online by being reasonable, and you don’t sell new things / services by saying the current status is sufficient.”

His comment suggests that the hype might be more about marketing and gaining attention than a fundamental shift in strategy.