AEO matters because buyers can learn about a category, compare providers, and narrow their options inside an AI-generated answer before visiting a website. If an answer accurately describes your business or links to your expertise, it creates another opportunity for discovery. If competing sources dominate the discussion, your website’s traditional rankings alone may not show the full picture of how customers encounter your brand.
The priority should depend on your audience and sales process. Review the questions prospects ask, the engines they use, and the sources those engines display. Then improve the pages and evidence that help people make decisions. Measure qualified visits, enquiries, and the accuracy of brand descriptions alongside visibility. AEO is most useful when it supports a business outcome rather than becoming a separate exercise in collecting screenshots of AI mentions.