SEO, AEO… now what? What if the next wave is optimizing for AI instead of search engines?

Lately I’ve been thinking SEO feels like it’s decaying. AI tools are rewriting everything, and even Google seems unsure what to reward anymore.

That made me wonder:

What if the real game isn’t ranking on Google anymore…

But being understood by AI systems?

Not just keywords and backlinks but signal clarity, entity recognition, footprint consistency.

If machines become the primary consumers of our content, are we optimizing for them?

Curious if anyone else here has thought about this shift.

I’ve been building something experimental around it and would love to hear your takes.