5 SEO Foundations You Need Before AI Search Optimization

By Darrin Gerr, CEO Agency Jet.

AI Search Is Changing the Game. But SEO Is Still the Field You Play On.

Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s the future of search. We at Agency Jet believe that they’re right, as it is. Although it doesn’t happen overnight, it’s happening fast. 

Here’s the catch: if you’re not already winning on the field (SEO), AI isn’t going to magically make you an MVP. You need a base for success (and time); this is still a fact in 2025.

At Agency Jet, we’ve always tried to be ahead of this shift. We’ve been ranking clients on Google, Yahoo, and Bing for over a decade. Now, we’re getting them cited in Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT answers, and Gemini search responses, to mention a few.

AI doesn’t change the rules; it just changes the stadium while improving the game with new rules. 

So here are our 5 SEO Foundations You Need Before AI Optimization:

1. SEO Is the Concrete Foundation Under Your Home, Office Space, or Skyscraper

You wouldn’t build a home, office, or 50-story building on sand. You need a concrete foundation, as Same does for AI optimization.

Before AI ever notices you, you need Solid SEO principles as a foundation

• Solid keyword targeting
• High-authority backlinks
• Lightning-fast, mobile-friendly pages
• A site people actually want to use

We’ve taken clients who were invisible and put them on page one in under six months, because we started with the concrete first.

2. AI Citations Are Like Making the All-Star Team

Think of AI like a sports commentator. When it answers, it’s pulling from the “highlight reel” of the internet.

To get in that reel, you have to:

• Be in the Top 10 positions for your core search terms.
• Prove your expertise with credible sources, data finds, and Brand Mentions Improve AI Visibility.
• Answer questions so clearly that AI can’t resist quoting you.

One of our HVAC clients went from never being mentioned to showing up in both Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT recommendations, because we made them “all-star” material.

3. Hybrid Optimization Is Like Being Fluent in Two Languages

Google speaks one language: SEO.
AI speaks another: structured, conversational, direct answers.

If you’re fluent in both, you can talk to everyone in the room.

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Format questions, add schema markup, and write like you’re talking to a human.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Build deep content that AI trusts and reuses.

For a medical services client, we blended both approaches. Result? They showed up in Google, Bing AI, and even DuckDuckGo’s AI summaries, tripling their inbound leads.

4. Agency Jet’s Approach: Build First, Decorate Later

Too many agencies throw “AI optimization” at you without fixing the basics. That’s like putting curtains on a house without walls.

We believe this should be a process:

1. Build your SEO foundation.
2. Layer on AI-optimized formatting and structure.
3. Monitor AI visibility and traditional rankings.
4. Adjust weekly as AI algorithms shift.

Our process doesn’t just future-proof you, it dominates the present.

5. Follow The Simple Game Plan

If you’ve made it this far but aren’t sure how to apply these to your website, give us a call! We’ll provide a free website assessment to help you understand where you stand and what to improve.

Read our Google Reviews to learn what others say, and what you will learn.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between SEO and AI optimization?
   SEO focuses on ranking in traditional search engines like Google by improving keywords, backlinks, site speed, and user experience. AI optimization ensures your content is formatted and structured so AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews can find, trust, and cite it.
2. Can I skip SEO and just optimize for AI search results?
   No. Without a strong SEO foundation, solid rankings, credibility, and technical health, AI tools are less likely to find and use your content. Think of SEO as the field where the game is played, and AI as a new set of commentators.
3. How long does it take to see results from SEO before AI optimization works?
   Most websites start to see measurable SEO improvements in 3–6 months, depending on competition, content quality, and technical fixes. AI citations typically come after your site is already ranking well and demonstrating authority.
4. What is AEO and GEO, and why do they matter for AI search?
   AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) helps AI understand your content by formatting answers, adding schema markup, and writing conversationally. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) builds trust with AI by creating in-depth, accurate, and well-structured content that it will reuse in answers.

5. How do I know if my website is showing up in AI-generated search results?
You can track mentions and citations by monitoring AI search features like Google AI Overviews or testing prompts in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Bing AI. At Agency Jet, we also use tools to track AI visibility alongside traditional SEO rankings