AEO, GEO, ACO: SEO in the Age of AI Agents

The Death of the Click

The numbers are unequivocal:

The Paradigm Shift: SEO vs GEO

Before diving into acronyms, let's understand the fundamental shift:

This isn't incremental evolution. It's a paradigm rupture.

In the SEO model, you optimize to be clicked. In the GEO model, you optimize to be cited as an authoritative source — even if the user never visits your site. This fundamental shift requires rethinking how we approach topical authority and E-E-A-T signals.

The 3 New Acronyms

ACO Customs: Critical Files

ACO introduces new configuration files that AI agents consult before interacting with your site. These are the customs of agentic commerce.

/.well-known/ai-plugin.json

This file, popularized by ChatGPT plugins, describes your site's capabilities for AI agents:

{
  "schema_version": "v1",
  "name_for_human": "OWAG - Dog Breeders",
  "name_for_model": "owag_breeders",
  "description_for_human": "Find certified dog breeders in France",
  "description_for_model": "API to search breeders by breed, region, certifications. Returns puppy availability, prices, health tests.",
  "auth": { "type": "none" },
  "api": {
    "type": "openapi",
    "url": "https://owag.fr/.well-known/openapi.yaml"
  },
  "capabilities": ["search", "compare", "contact"],
  "logo_url": "https://owag.fr/logo.png",
  "contact_email": "api@owag.fr"
}

AI-Specific robots.txt Directives

The robots.txt evolves to include AI agent-specific directives:

# AI Agents - Access Authorized
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /api/
Allow: /products/
Allow: /availability/

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

# Traditional Crawlers
User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /

# Commerce Agents - API Access
User-agent: AgentCommerce
Allow: /api/v1/
Allow: /.well-known/

ACO Preparation Checklist

1. Create /.well-known/ai-plugin.json describing your capabilities
2. Document your API in OpenAPI/Swagger format
3. Add robots.txt directives for AI agents
4. Expose real-time data via JSON endpoints
5. Implement lightweight authentication for verified agents
6. Monitor agent requests in your logs

Schema.org: The New Lingua Franca

Microsoft explicitly recommends these Schema types:

Structured data is no longer "nice to have". It's the condition for existence in the AI ecosystem.

A site without Schema.org in 2026 is like a site without HTML in 2000. Technically functional. Practically invisible.

Entity Interconnection

The power of modern Schema.org lies in interconnection via @id:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "https://owag.fr/#organization",
      "name": "OWAG",
      "founder": { "@id": "https://selimreggabi.com/#person" },
      "award": ["FCI World Champion 2021", "100+ international titles"]
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://selimreggabi.com/#person",
      "name": "Selim Reggabi",
      "jobTitle": "Breeder & SEO Expert",
      "memberOf": { "@id": "https://owag.fr/#organization" },
      "award": ["FCI World Champion 2021"]
    }
  ]
}

Entities reference each other, creating a mini knowledge graph that LLMs can traverse. This interconnected approach is central to the Doctrine Mesh methodology, where every entity reinforces the authority of others within the same semantic network.

Why LLMs Are Already Crawling Us

OWAG.fr log analysis (January 2026):

LLMs no longer rely solely on their training corpus. They crawl in real-time. They verify information. They compare sources.

What the Logs Reveal

1. Most crawled pages by AI: Those with the most structured data
2. Frequency correlated with freshness: Updated pages get recrawled
3. Crawl depth: AI follows internal links — strategic internal linking still matters
4. Preference for structured data: Pages with JSON-LD are crawled 3x more

If your site isn't being crawled by these bots, ask yourself: why don't you deserve their attention?

The Citation Test

Here's the ultimate test of your AEO/GEO optimization:

1. Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity
2. Ask a question about your domain of expertise
3. Observe: are you cited?

If not, your traditional SEO might be excellent. But you're invisible to 30% of information searches (and growing).

Citation Test Methodology

For rigorous testing:

1. Use multiple LLMs: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini
2. Vary formulations: Direct question, comparative, exploratory
3. Test in incognito: Avoid personalization bias
4. Document results: Date, model, exact prompt, response
5. Repeat monthly: Authority evolves with model updates

What You Need to Do Now

Priority 1: Schema.org Audit

Verify every important page has:

• Organization or LocalBusiness with complete contact info
• Article or Product based on content type
• Person for authors with qualifications
• AggregateRating if you have reviews

Priority 2: GEO Signals

Explicitly document:

• Your certifications and accreditations
• Your awards and recognitions
• Your press mentions and citations
• Your verifiable partnerships

Priority 3: AEO Precision

For each offer/product/service:

• List ALL relevant attributes
• Use precise vocabulary, not marketing speak
• Update in real-time
• Structure in JSON-LD

Priority 4: Prepare for ACO

If you sell something:

• Expose your prices in structured data
• Document your terms (returns, warranties)
• Create /.well-known/ai-plugin.json
• Prepare API endpoints (even simple ones)
• Identify automatable workflows
• Add agent directives to robots.txt

The Evolution of SEO: Timeline

Each transition hasn't killed previous paradigms. It has integrated and surpassed them. You still need keywords, links, content, E-E-A-T. But it's no longer sufficient.

Conclusion

SEO isn't dead. It's evolving.

The click paradigm (being clicked in SERPs) yields to the citation paradigm (being cited by AI).

The sites that will dominate tomorrow are those that:

1. Exist in the knowledge graph — recognized entities, not anonymous pages
2. Deserve to be cited — verifiable topical authority, not hollow claims
3. Are machine-readable — structured data, not marketing prose
4. Are accessible to agents — APIs, config files, real-time endpoints

Traditional SEO remains important. But it becomes a necessary, not sufficient condition.

AEO + GEO + ACO = the new triptych of digital visibility.

Sources

• Microsoft Advertising Guide to AEO & GEO (PDF, August 2025)
• SearchEngineJournal: Agentic Commerce
• Ahrefs: AI Overview Impact Study (2025)
• Gartner: Future of Search Report (2024)
• OpenAI: Plugin Manifest Specification (2025)
• OWAG.fr server logs (internal analysis, January 2026)