Why AEO matters right now

People used to search in keywords: "t-shirt printing Kuldīga". Now they increasingly type the whole question, the way they'd ask a friend: "Where in Kuldīga can I get 20 T-shirts printed for my team by Friday, and what will it cost?"

Ten links are a poor answer to a question like that. AI tools handle it better: they read several pages and answer straight away. Google does it with AI Overviews above the links, and ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot do it every time someone looks something up there.

Normal search isn't going anywhere. But some questions, especially the ones where people compare and choose, are moving into a conversation with AI. And those are exactly the questions that bring a business its customers.

This is the key difference. In search results, even seventh place can get a click. An AI answer usually has only a few sources, shown next to the answer or under it.

So in AI search there's hardly any middle ground. If you're in the answer, you're seen by someone who has almost made up their mind. If you're not, for them you simply don't exist.

AI writes its answer from whatever it can find about you online. If your website has no prices, opening hours or list of services, the system takes the information from somewhere else: an old directory listing, a competitor's comparison or a long-forgotten forum thread.

The result can be unpleasant: an answer with an out-of-date price, the wrong address or, more often, no mention of your business at all. Clear, concrete facts on your own site are the best way to influence what AI says about you.

→Check for yourself: ask ChatGPT or Perplexity what your business offers, naming it, and compare the answer with reality.

Trust in AI systems builds slowly. The page has to be indexed, the business has to show up elsewhere online, and only then does it become a source that gets cited. It compounds: whoever starts first gets a head start that's hard to catch up with later.

In Latvia there's one more factor. There's far less good content in Latvian than in English. If nobody in your field has yet answered customers' questions clearly in Latvian, your site has a real chance of becoming the main source. Once competitors have done it, it gets harder.

Most important of all: most AEO work also improves normal SEO and makes the site easier for people to understand. It isn't a bet on a single channel.

1. Write down ten questions customers ask you on the phone. They ask AI the same ones.
2. Answer them on your website, briefly and concretely, with prices and timelines wherever you can.
3. Check that the name, address, phone number and opening hours on your Google Business Profile match your website.
4. Make sure your website's text is in the HTML and that robots.txt doesn't block AI search crawlers.
5. Add structured data about the business, its services and frequently asked questions.
6. Connect Google Analytics and Search Console so you can see where visitors come from.
7. Once a month, ask AI tools your customers' questions and note who gets mentioned.

You can do the first three steps yourself in an afternoon. The fourth and fifth are usually a developer's job. They're included in our website development price from €800, along with Google Analytics, Google Business Profile and Search Console setup. The full list is on the pricing page.

If you already have a website, in a free consultation we'll tell you what can be improved on it and when building a new one is the better deal. If you're based in Rīga, we can meet in person.

AEO results are harder to measure than Google rankings, but it can be done.

• Google Analytics 4 shows visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, copilot.microsoft.com and gemini.google.com as referral sources. Not every AI visit is recognised, but the trend is visible.
• Search Console shows which queries your site appears for in Google. If more and more of them are long, conversational questions, that's a good sign.
• Manual checks. The same questions once a month in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google, and a simple table with the date and who was mentioned. After six months it will tell you more than any tool.
• Ask new customers how they found you. "ChatGPT recommended you" is exactly the signal you're looking for.

If you haven't read what AEO is and how AI picks its sources yet, start with What is AEO. And if AI interests you beyond search, in your day-to-day work too, take a look at our AI solutions for businesses.