Have you heard that your company must be showing up in AI search? Now, you care checking Chatgpt and seeing who they recommend. You’re already spending $3,000 a month on SEO. Do you need to create an AI optimization budget and what do you do with your SEO budget?
Ran my own e-commerce business for years. Spent my own money chasing rankings. Then built an agency because most of the “SEO experts” I tried to hire had never actually done it with their own money.
Authority SEO sells SEO Optimization. Also, we know we’d rather you ask the right questions than get sold something you don’t need. Successful relationships are built on trust and our success is your success.
This article covers whether AI search visibility needs its own budget. We share whether your existing SEO spend should already be doing that job. So, you will have the find data to develop the best SEO and GEO budget for your business.
Do I Need a New Budget Line Item for AI Search?
No, the best SEO strategy delivers both SEO and AEO/GEO results. Your existing budget should handle both AI and SEO.
AI search and Google search deliver similar results. Google’s own results are filtered through AI. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini search for same answers. Who knows your company’s niche the best. Who has the data nobody else has. Do you answer the questions your buyers are asking.
We’ve worked with clients that have zero AI presence. We created an entirely new sales channel from fixing old content and creating new content. This was done with no new budget.
One e-commerce client’s revenue jumped 432%. We optimized content that had some rankings though were missing the core ingredients. We rebuilt them around buyer questions, added expert input, and backed claims with data that AI can’t replicate. The content shot up Google rankings faster than we would have imagined. Google is looking for the same thing as Chatgpt. Even if they deliver different results.
Do you want to know what a good budget for SEO and AI is? Find the right spend range for your business and competition. Checkout our SEO Budget Calculator.
As we move forward everything that someone searches for will be filtered by AI. AI has become better than any algorithm on who are the best companies and websites to rank. The best SEO make the best AEO/GEO.
Bryan Ashbaugh, Authority SEO Founder
Do I Need Extra Budget for AEO and GEO?
No, AEO and GEO aren’t a separate marketing channel. AEO and GEO are more terms to confuse people about AI optimization. The best content strategy and budget should handle both of these.
AEO is Answer Engine Optimization. Think of it as answering your buyers questions. That is what AI is attempting to do. GEO is Generative Engine Optimization. Think of GEO as how you position your brand and the data AI can’t replicate. AI uses multiple third party sources to determine who is the expert in every niche.
Content built to answer buyer questions with expert insight and real data ranks in Google and gets cited by AI.
- Google’s own search results run through AI systems now.
- ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews want real expertise and data AI can’t replicate.
- If an agency pitches AI search optimization, ask what specifically the extra budget does that the current content strategy can’t.
Do you want to see how your website scores in AI search? Checkout our AEO/ GEO Audit. Find out action items you can do today.
When Should I Add AI Budget Instead of Reallocating?
Almost never, at least not as a separate “AI search” budget. If you want to spend more on organic search marketing, we are in full support. However, as we mentioned before the best SEO strategies long-term work for both SEO and AI. They are not different kind of work.
What can change is the type of work or content that is being produced. Maybe you need more third party positive reviews. The SEO budget could work on that over more AEO optimization. We don’t see these are different budget items as more different strategies we implement.
One thing that has worked for us is being revenue-focused SEO. This means it doesn’t matter what strategy or task we are doing. Our goal is to do what is necessary to increase sale or leads.
There a lot of different reasons to increase your budget. The differences are not AI vs SEO. They are based on data and performance.
- Budget may be too small to compete online.
- Your business is expanding into new markets.
- SEO is now a revenue generating channel that you want to grow.
Are you looking to hire a SEO agency this year? Figure out what makes the best organic search partner. Checkout our guide to Find the Right Internet Marketing Company.
What’s the Next Move With Your Existing SEO Budget?
So, you don’t need a new budget for SEO and AI. You need a plan to make the money you’re already spending do more.
Your content sits there answering questions nobody’s asking. Now, a competitor is becoming the name AI recommends instead of yours. It’s happening on every search right now. You can check Chatpgt yourself.
The first move is an audit. Pull your top 10 pages and check them against the actual questions your buyers are typing into Google and asking ChatGPT. What did you find? Did you answer your buyers questions or did your competition?
If you want a professional option, we are here to give honest advice. We want long-term relationships and we know those are built on trust and performance. For free, you can find out how Authority SEO can make a difference for your business.
References
Searchengineland.com How to win SEO budget conversations
Searchgineland.com AI-driven budgeting and forecasting
