The Two-Internet Future: AEO and SEO Strategy When Half Your Traffic Is Machines
What does the 'two internets' prediction mean for SEO?
It means your pages now have two distinct readers: humans coming from Google, and LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity pulling citations to answer queries on your behalf.
Operators are already seeing this split show up in their inbound.
Storetasker reports leads submitting briefs that arrived via the LLMs , despite doing nothing fancy to appeal to them — strong fundamentals on classical SEO carried over.
The category itself has a name in operator circles: GEO (generative engine optimization) or AEO , and it's now listed alongside content marketing and SEO as a recurring B2B and B2C use case for AI.
The catch: the playbooks are unstable.
Truffle's team built on proven SEO foundations and watched the landscape change very rapidly , with AEO/GEO shifting just as fast.
How do I optimize copy for AI agents vs human readers?
The operator pattern that's working today is deceptively simple: keep doing good classical SEO, then add explicit question-and-answer structure higher up the page.
Lead with Q&A near the hero, not just at the bottom.
Storetasker now adds a section close to the hero answering questions like why should you hire a Shopify developer? what does a Shopify developer do? how much does it cost? — separate from the traditional FAQ at the page bottom.
Use AI as a copywriting partner.
The Storetasker rebuild leans on AI for copywriting and site structure to the point the founder says I don't think I could have done any of the work I've done today on this project without AI .
Validate keywords with a loop.
Paste candidate keyword lists into Semrush, screenshot results back to the GPT, and let it recommend which to prioritize.
The underlying bet: if you just apply good thinking for generic SEO practices, it's going to help you in the LLMs .
“if you just apply good thinking for generic SEO practices, it's going to help you in the LLMs, and that's we see that today.”
What changes in conversion design when LLMs are the primary visitor?
The page structure shifts.
Q&A blocks move from afterthought to hero-adjacent real estate, because that's the format LLMs lift cleanly when synthesizing answers.
Storetasker's rebuild treats positioning, language, and site structure as one project — moving off custom code onto Framer or Webflow, and using AI throughout.
The result is pages built with SEO in mind end-to-end, not bolted on.
One operator warning: don't try to game it.
Truffle notes there was a time where you could sort of game some of this, right?
Just get listed in listicles — and that window is closing as the ranking surfaces evolve.
“We get a lot of leads coming to the website. Submitting briefs that have come via the the the LLMs.”
Where does AEO fit in the broader AI-for-growth stack?
Across hundreds of operator conversations, three patterns keep recurring for AI in growth: B2B: identifying which accounts are right for the taking at the moment — the 3–4% of TAM ready to buy — and powering outbound and ABM motions.
B2C: generating creative assets for performance campaigns and making those campaigns auto-improve.
Both: content marketing and showing up in SEO and GEO inside LLMs.
AEO isn't a side project — it sits alongside paid creative and outbound as one of the core repeatable AI plays for growth teams.
“there was a time where you could sort of game some of this, right? Just get listed in listicles”
How should operators make bets in a fast-moving AEO landscape?
The mental model: separate accuracy from precision .
It's easy to be accurate (LLM traffic will matter); hard to be precise (which formats, which engines, which quarter).
The stronger your domain expertise — your read on customer pain and competitor moves — the more forgiving it is to be precise.
Truffle's experience is the cautionary tale — the SEO foundations worked, but the team saw that change very rapidly .
“showing up in SEO and in GEO, generative engine optimization. So in LLMs, those usually show up both in b to c, b to b.”
Frequently asked questions.
- What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?
- GEO, also called AEO, is the practice of optimizing content so it gets cited by LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity when they answer user queries. Operators describe it as a recurring use case alongside classical SEO and content marketing, showing up in both B2B and B2C growth stacks. It's distinct from SEO but operators report the two reinforce each other when fundamentals are strong.
- Do I need a separate strategy for LLMs vs Google?
- Storetasker reports getting LLM-sourced leads without doing anything fancy specifically to appeal to the LLMs — strong classical SEO carried over. The incremental move is adding explicit Q&A sections (why hire X, what does X do, how much does X cost) near the hero rather than only at the page bottom. Good SEO thinking helps you in the LLMs.
- Can I game AEO the way early SEO was gamed?
- The Truffle team's experience suggests no — and the window is closing. There was a time you could get listed in listicles and rank, but both SEO and AEO/GEO are changing very rapidly. Operators who built on proven SEO playbooks watched the landscape shift underneath them. Treat AEO as a discipline that needs continuous iteration, not a one-time hack.
- How should I use AI to rebuild my site for AEO?
- Use AI as a copywriting and structure collaborator. Storetasker's founder moved off a custom site to Framer/Webflow and used AI throughout for copy, positioning, and site structure — saying the work would have cost thousands in external input otherwise. Add Q&A blocks near the hero, keep a separate FAQ at the bottom, and validate keywords by looping Semrush screenshots back through your GPT for prioritization.
- Where does AEO fit alongside paid and outbound in an AI growth stack?
- It's one of three recurring patterns operators are doubling down on. In B2B, AI powers identifying which accounts are right for the taking and driving outbound and ABM. In B2C, it generates assets for performance campaigns that auto-improve. And across both, content marketing and showing up in SEO and GEO inside LLMs is a core play — not a side project.
- How do I make smart bets when the AEO landscape is moving this fast?
- Separate accuracy from precision. It's easy to be accurate (LLM traffic matters); hard to be precise (which engines, which formats, which quarter pays off). The stronger you are in your domain — understanding customer pain and competitor moves — the more forgiving it is to be precise.