Being mentioned by AI is no longer enough. Find out how AEO helps you manage your brand’s authenticity, sentiment and differentiation.
The next step for AEO: shaping the way AI talks about your brand
For years, SEO revolved around a single goal: appearing on the first page of Google. Today, your customers are asking their questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Claude. These tools no longer simply return a list of links. They formulate a comprehensive answer, in their own words, and sometimes mention a few brands in passing. This is precisely where the’AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation, took to the stage.
However, the situation has changed very quickly. Simply being cited by AI is no longer enough. According to Louis Ktisti, an AEO specialist and business adviser at Profound, the competitive advantage is shifting. It now lies in the ability to shape the way AI talks about your brand. Accurate information, positive sentiment and clear differentiation are becoming the new metrics to monitor. In this article, we explain why the AI-based brand representation is becoming a strategic issue. We will also look at how to take practical action.
From a simple reference to brand representation
The first strategies for’AEO were pursuing a rather mechanical goal. The aim was to include a specific phrase in the response generated by a AI response engine. A brand mention was a visible mention, and that seemed to be enough. Marketing teams counted mentions in the same way they used to count Google rankings.
This approach is now showing its limitations. Imagine an AI assistant mentioning your company, but with an out-of-date price. Worse still, it might associate you with a fault that was rectified two years ago. It might also portray you as a generic player, interchangeable with your competitors. In all three cases, you are indeed mentioned. Yet the mention does you more harm than good.
The real question, therefore, is no longer whether AI mentions you. It concerns the content, the tone and the prominence AI accords you in comparison with other players.
Why AI is becoming the new battleground for marketers
Internet users’ behaviour is undergoing a profound change. As early as 2024, Gartner predicted a 25 % decline in the volume of traditional search engines by 2026. This forecast has sparked much debate, as illustrated by this analysis published by CMSWire. Whatever the actual scale of the phenomenon, there is little doubt about the underlying trend.
A user who asks an AI a question often receives a single, concise answer. They no longer compare ten open tabs. They trust the recommendation provided and then take action. In other words, AI acts as an adviser who directly influences the purchasing decision. If this adviser gets your offer wrong, you lose the customer before they’ve even visited your website.
Let’s take a practical example. An SME director asks an AI which agency to choose to develop a business application. The assistant lists three names and summarises their strengths in a few lines. The director will probably contact the first company presented in a favourable light. The other agencies will never know that they have been ruled out.
Large language models form their perception from a variety of sources. Your official website counts, but it is just one voice amongst many. Customer reviews, press articles, forums and comparison sites also play a part. Your online reputation is thus transformed into raw material for algorithms.
The three pillars of effective representation
Louis Ktisti’s analysis highlights three complementary dimensions. Each deserves particular attention, as they reinforce one another.
Truthfulness: the foundation of trust
AI that spreads false information about your brand poses a real risk. The most common errors relate to prices, features, service areas or contact details. They often stem from outdated pages, unupdated listings or conflicting content. The truthfulness It therefore depends, first and foremost, on the consistency of your digital ecosystem. Every official source must tell the same story, using the same data.
The structured data also help machines understand who you are. A markup Schema.org Organisation A well-structured entry clearly states your name, the services you offer and your contact details. This technical work, which is often overlooked, significantly reduces the risk of confusion.
Sentiment: a reflection of your reputation
As well as presenting the facts, AI adopts a certain tone when discussing a company. It may come across as enthusiastic, neutral or frankly reserved. This brand sentiment is largely determined by what customers and the press say about you. A flood of unaddressed negative reviews will always end up influencing the response generated.
Improving sentiment does not mean manipulating the models. Rather, it is about feeding the web with concrete evidence of your value. Case studies, verifiable testimonials and thoughtful responses to criticism play a decisive role here. The Google’s EEAT criteria They remain, in fact, an excellent guide for structuring this process.
Differentiation: the key to making a recommendation
AI naturally tends to generalise. Without a clear signal, it will place your business in a vague category, alongside dozens of others. The brand differentiation is about making your unique selling point clear, even to a machine. You need to know exactly which type of customer you are the best choice for.
This positioning must be clearly and consistently reflected in your content. The clearer your message is, the more accurately the AI will be able to convey it when a prospective client is comparing different service providers. A vague promise produces a vague response.
Assessing what AI actually says about you
You can only manage what you measure effectively. The first step, therefore, is to audit your visibility in AI. In practical terms, you should regularly ask your key assistants to go through the questions raised by your prospective clients. These enquiries should cover your services, your pricing, your competitors and your perceived strengths. Each response is then analysed according to three criteria: accuracy, tone and positioning.
Specialised platforms such as Profound now automate this monitoring on a large scale. They measure the share of the market of your brand in the responses generated. They also identify the sources most frequently cited by models in your sector. This information reveals which content needs to be corrected, expanded or created as a priority.
An effective dashboard tracks changes in these indicators month by month. It enables each action taken to be linked to an observable change in the AI’s responses.
When AI helps teams turn insights into action
Simply identifying a problem is not enough. The real challenge lies in rectifying the issue quickly, across hundreds of different queries. This is where artificial intelligence becomes an ally, rather than just another channel to monitor.
From AI agents can continuously analyse search engine results and detect discrepancies. They flag up incorrect information as soon as it appears. They can also suggest content updates or responses to customer reviews. Thanks to the’task automation, your teams save valuable time on repetitive tasks. They can then focus on strategy, creativity and final approval.
This human oversight remains essential. AI speeds up the work, but your team ensures the message is accurate. Training your staff to use these new tools is therefore a strategic investment. Our AI training courses and seminars meet this very need.
A practical action plan to regain control
Where should you start when you want to shape your image in AI responses? The first step is to carry out an audit of your presence across the main voice assistants. Make a note of every error, every negative phrasing and every instance of confusion with a competitor.
Next, ensure that all your official sources are consistent. Your website, company profiles, social media profiles and business directories must all display the same information. Sometimes, just one inconsistency is enough to sow doubt in a model’s mind.
The third step is to enrich your website with content that directly answers customers’ questions. FAQ pages, practical guides and case studies are particularly popular with models. A solid technical foundation remains essential, as a slow or poorly structured website is crawled less effectively. Our article on Core Web Vitals In fact, it goes into detail on this point.
You should also work on building your reputation outside your website. Encourage your satisfied customers to leave a review and respond to any criticism without fail. You should also aim to secure coverage in recognised media outlets within your sector.
Finally, set up a regular monitoring process. Trends change, as do your competitors, and a favourable reputation is never guaranteed for good.
AEO does not replace SEO; it complements it
Some are predicting the end of the natural referencing. The reality is far more nuanced. The AI response engines rely heavily on well-indexed and well-structured web content. Solid work on’SEO optimisation is therefore the foundation of any strategy for’AEO. Le GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation, in fact shares most of these fundamentals.
The main difference lies in the ultimate objective. SEO aims to attract a click. AEO aims to shape a perception, and subsequently a decision. The two approaches complement each other and are best managed in tandem.
Shape your story before AI does it for you
AI is already talking about your brand, whether you like it or not. The key question is whether it’s talking about it correctly. Companies that invest now in authenticity, sentiment and differentiation will gain a head start. The others risk having their image defined by sources beyond their control.
At iterates, we support Belgian businesses through this transition from our Brussels office. We combine SEO expertise, website design and bespoke artificial intelligence solutions. Would you like to know what AI really says about your business? Contact our experts to discuss this during an initial free consultation.
