Ranking in ChatGPT & AI Overviews: The Ultimate AEO vs. GEO Guide Artwork

Your Digital Marketing Coach with Neal Schaffer

As Your Digital Marketing Coach, I am on a mission to provide you marketing professionals, agencies, entrepreneurs, and business owners expert advice, both from myself as well as my expert guests, on how to leverage Digital First Marketing to grow your business, one episode at a time, This podcast will include advice on a broad range of topics all with the commonality of being related to digital marketing and having actionable takeaways for your business. Topics discussed will include digital marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), blogging, podcasting, YouTube, video marketing, email marketing, marketing automation, artificial intelligence and Generative AI, as well as how to maximize digital marketing ROI from social media on sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok.

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Your Digital Marketing Coach with Neal Schaffer

Ranking in ChatGPT & AI Overviews: The Ultimate AEO vs. GEO Guide

December 01, 2025 • Neal Schaffer • Episode 438

Is your business ready for a world where 50% of search queries involve AI?

The digital landscape is shifting fast. We are moving from a world of traditional Google rankings to a "Zero-Click" environment dominated by AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Voice Search. If you are still relying solely on old-school SEO playbooks, your content is at risk of becoming invisible.

In this episode I break down the confusion between AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). I reveal why these aren't just buzzwords, but the two sides of the same coin that will determine your digital visibility in 2025 and beyond.

Tune in to discover:

The Critical Difference: What separates AEO (Extraction) from GEO (Synthesis) and why you need a hybrid strategy to win at both.
The "Zero-Click" Reality: How to measure success when users get their answers without ever visiting your website (and why that actually builds more brand authority).
5 Foundational Strategies: The specific steps you can take today—from "Answer-Focused Content" to "Entity Optimization"—to make your brand machine-readable and trustworthy.
The Local SEO Pivot: Why NAP consistency and Google Business Profiles are non-negotiable for voice search visibility.
Actionable Checklist: 7 immediate steps to audit your content and future-proof your digital marketing strategy.

Whether you are a marketing professional, an entrepreneur, or a local business owner, this episode provides the roadmap you need to become the trusted source that AI cites and customers trust.

Key Highlights:

Intro: The confusion between AEO and GEO.
Why the old SEO playbook isn’t enough anymore.
AEO vs. GEO: Extraction vs. Synthesis explained.
The 5 Core Principles for AI Visibility.
Specific tactics for Local Business owners.
How to measure success in an AI world (Impressions vs. Clicks).
The 7-Step Action Plan to implement today.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

Join the Digital First Group Coaching Membership: nealschaffer.com/membership
Contact Neal: neal@nealschaffer.com
Neal’s Website: nealschaffer.com
The Ask Neal AI Framework: https://podcast.nealschaffer.com/episode/the-asknealtm-framework-7-steps-to-make-ai-sound-like-you-not-a-robot
Marcus Sheridan's "They Ask, You Answer" book: https://amzn.to/48MT4Pp

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