How Does Your Company Show Up When Your Customers Ask AI?
The Deciding Factor can show you how to improve your company’s visibility in search and AEO results.
Get a free SEO/AEO audit to take control of the narrative and reach your target audience.
The Reality of Search Has Changed
B2B discovery is not just about rankings anymore.
- AI is now the primary tool used for purchasing recommendations, consequently changing how buyers evaluate and research their options.
- Around 70% of the buyer journey is complete before anyone even speaks to your sales reps. That’s the “dark funnel,” and if you don’t have an optimized content engine, you’re missing potential customers.
- Organic click-through rates are declining as AI Overview summarizes answers directly in search results.
At the same time:
The takeaway: do not rely on native search alone; structure and prioritize your content for AI visibility to reach your end-buyer.
Our Team’s SEO & AEO Approach
The Deciding Factor doesn’t treat SEO and AEO as separate tactics. We look at the full picture:
- Content performance in traditional search
- AI interpretation and presentation of your brand
- Messaging comparison to your competitors
- How to put people first in your customer journey
Visibility doesn’t always drive decisions; how you show up to your target audience does.
How It Works
Request your audit
Complete a short questionnaire
We analyze your search and AI visibility
Join us for a 30-minute strategy session
More than Just a Report
There are plenty of tools that will give you an “audit.”
Most of them:
- Run hundreds of automated checks
- Deliver a score
- Leave you to figure out what it means
We’re different because:
- Real strategists interpret your audit results and tell you what does and doesn’t matter in the report
- We filter out false positives and noise
- We connect SEO/AEO to your broader marketing efforts
Get Your Free SEO/AEO Audit
Maybe your SEO is working but your AI visibility isn’t. Maybe you’re struggling with both!
TDF has experts that can help.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO and AEO
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) vs Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
SEO focuses on ranking in search engines. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) focuses on being selected or cited in AI-generated answers on AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google’s AI Overview. Both tactics are now essential.
What is the difference between Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
The debate is still unsettled. You’ll get different answers from different sources, ranging from they are the same thing to they are distinctly different strategies. Our perspective is that our goal is to optimize for the engine. In this case, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Google’s AI Overview, and AI voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Your online presence should support those platforms delivering results that:
- Provide reputational reinforcement and positive sentiment about your company and products
- Make you visible when people use these platforms as a research tool
- Use your authoritative content to answer technical questions and position your company as a thought leader
Some pundits separate these objectives into the two different acronyms. No matter what you call it, it’s a group of strategies that target the same mechanisms for interacting with your content, and our team is dedicated to working holistically across your content strategy to achieve all these goals.
Why does AI visibility matter?
Because buyers are increasingly using AI tools to evaluate options. If you’re not mentioned or recommended, you’re not part of the conversation.
Can’t I just use an SEO audit tool?
You can, but most tools provide data without interpretation. The real value comes from understanding what to do with that data, prioritizing and taking the next steps to improve your online visibility.
Do I need to be using AI already to get an AEO audit?
You can in any place in your AI adoption journey, from AI curious to AI expert. In fact, the audit and consultation can be a valuable step for teams trying to figure out how AI visibility is affecting their business and where AI usage fits into their marketing strategy.
How does this fit into my overall marketing?
SEO and AEO don’t operate in isolation. They are simply tactics in the toolbox that are central to understanding the connections between your messaging, your content, your brand and your broader marketing strategy.
Our work is grounded in research and strategy. We collaborate with you to create solutions that are not only creative, but practical for your long-term business objectives.