Traditional SEO is about optimizing for Google: backlinks, page speed, keywords, internal links. It’s technical and tactical. AI SEO is about optimizing for machines that generate answers: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Copilot.
Think of it this way: traditional SEO gets you listed; AI SEO gets you named. Ranking on page one of Google is great, but if ChatGPT doesn’t cite your brand in an answer, your visibility shrinks fast.
Here’s an example: we had a client who dominated organic rankings for “oil and gas marketing.” But when I asked Perplexity the same question, their company didn’t appear. Why? No entity markup, no structured mentions, and no cross-platform presence.
Traditional SEO opens the door. AI SEO gets you invited to the table. You need both.