Is AEO actually different from SEO, and how do you optimize for AI chatbots?

I would treat it as another layer, not a replacement for SEO. Search engines are still a discovery channel, but people can also encounter information through an AI answer without starting on a results page.

The practical overlap is pretty big: make pages readable, organize information clearly, use sensible semantic markup, and link related pages. That helps people understand the site too. There is still a separate question of whether a given chatbot can access the page and chooses to use it.

A lot of AEO sounds like old SEO with a fresh label. Clear content and a well structured site were useful before chatbots, and calling them something new doesn't make them a guaranteed way to get mentioned in an AI answer.

The measurement side is the tricky bit. Conventional search gives you relatively familiar things to track, like rankings and clicks. AI referrals and mentions can be harder to see, so it's difficult to know which changes made a difference.

I'd start by watching whatever referral data is available and keep expectations modest. Don't commit months to a specific AEO playbook when the tools and discovery patterns are still changing.

Keep the technical distinction in mind. Some AI tools can use web search to retrieve information, so discoverable, clearly structured pages may help there. That doesn't mean every chatbot searches the web for every answer, or that good markup alone will get your site cited.

Check that the pages you want discovered are accessible and that their content makes sense on its own. Then keep working on the usual search fundamentals rather than chasing a secret chatbot ranking formula.