Search is changing fast.
A little too fast, if you ask me. And the title of "expert", at this early stage, has become a signal of arrogance and lack of professionalism...
I see tons of great marketers coming up with new terms for what's going on.
AEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), SEO (Search Everywhere Optimization) etc...
As someone in the trenches of MarTech every day, I’ve seen how this phenomenon is already shifting the way teams think about visibility, metrics, strategy, growth, and even... budget!
The line between what's tangible vs. what is vanity is starting to blur out at a speed never seen before.
But, I'll be honest...I'll humbly, yet confidently, state that we're all just winging it.
One more time: We're all just winging it.
For the time being, at least.
And anyone who disagrees today will be humbled sooner rather than later.
And here's why...
Without any significant effort or hacks, but rather just by writing valuable, resourceful content (as I did even before ChatGPT's public launch), I've been able to get this blog you're on to obtain a solid amount of ChatGPT referrals in the last 90 days...yay!
But, while it's a great thing, the humbling aspect of all this is that...I got nothing.
Yup. No playbook, no upsell, no offer, nothing I can brag about.
And neither should anyone (who is credible).
There is absolutely no reason why any marketer or agency should be guaranteeing AEO results. Much less selling them at significantly higher prices than other types of marketing services.
Yes, don't get me wrong, the frameworks are starting to work, and results are visible, at least when it comes to improving LLM attribution/referrals. But as far as selling results go, if any agency or marketer is promising or crafting a KPI/OKR out of thin air for AEO...then, run as fast and far as you can. Especially if they're promising an ROI/dollar amount tied to that effort.
Because 1) if you achieve the results, great. But it'll take just one Friday afternoon's update of OpenAI's privacy policy to burn your entire house down, or 2) you'll end up firing your marketing agency because you're betting on an expertise that is, at best, in its infancy.
It's like trying to decide whether or not to include a token like Dogecoin in your retirement fund.
I'm not here to provide any sort of financial advice on meme coins, but, you get the point, there's not enough history in those vehicles to provide accurate forecasts into the future of your retirement's savings vs., say, deciding on investing it in the S&P 500.
We're at an infant stage that seems to be promising.
Yet, please understand what is sustaining this new internet order.
And that is a word that rhymes with "death".
Debt. In the form of intelligent and visionary, hopeful-for-the-future funding, but still debt.
All of the big players in AI are financing their operations with large amounts of debt.
Unlike Google's search engine, sustained by one of the world's most profitable companies, what we're calling "the future" feels more like a utopian world sustained by a financial bubble than an actual tangible, self-sustaining path towards humankind's digital evolution.
So, while I'm not calling for AEO's demise, I'm calling on marketers to do a few things:
1) Be careful of the bandwagon you're jumping on. It's changing quicker than anything you could call sustainable in this industry, and no one's got any more than 3 years of experience (at the time of this blog article's publishing date).
2) Be careful how you make money with AEO (are you profiting from ignorance or establishing further credibility on your SEO skills?).
3) Make sure to consider how far into the sea you're going to take your clients' boat in this undiscovered territory.
4) Make sure to plan for potential home damage. Right now, anyone building a house on AEO is next to a landslide. It's never been more important for you to own (or have guaranteed indefinite ownership of the channels you're tying results to).
5) Finally, keep exploring, and making discoveries, establish frameworks and playbooks, but, remember this; anything hidden will eventually come to light. Consider whether it's worth charging 5 to 6 figures for an AI-driven implementation or use case that might get replaced by a free ChatGPT feature in 3 months...
You're in uncharted waters, and you don't own nor can predict any part of the future nor control any of the external forces that are wrestling with this AI monster. It's one of those rare moments in time where playing it safe, and waiting might be the best thing you can do if you do not wish to make a dent on your reputation.
Yours truly,
Jorge.