AEO vs SEO: what Ottawa businesses need to know
A plain comparison of Answer Engine Optimization and Search Engine Optimization, and how the work differs in 2026.
What is the difference between AEO and SEO?
SEO optimizes a page to rank in a list of links, while AEO optimizes a business to be quoted inside an AI-generated answer. BlindSpot treats AEO as the layer that now sits above SEO for Ottawa businesses.
SEO answers "where does my page rank." AEO answers "does the AI name my business." Both matter, but they measure different outcomes.
Why do AI answers replace clicks?
AI engines increasingly answer the question directly, so people click through to websites far less often. A business can rank well in Ottawa and still lose the customer to whichever company the AI recommends.
When there are no clicks, there is no traffic to convert. The only way to compete is to be inside the answer itself.
What changes in the actual work?
SEO work centres on keywords, content and backlinks; AEO work centres on schema, entities and third-party citations. BlindSpot shifts the effort toward the signals AI models actually use to choose who to cite.
Instead of chasing keyword density, AEO makes a business a clear, consistent entity across the web. Instead of only building backlinks, it builds citations and mentions on the sources AI trusts.
When do I need which?
Every business with a website needs SEO fundamentals, and every business whose buyers ask AI for recommendations needs AEO. In Ottawa, most service businesses now need both, with AEO as the newer and less contested opportunity.
Find out whether AI already names your business.
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