AEO and GEO for food and beverage brands: getting cited in AI recipe and product answers
How food and beverage brands can position recipe and product content to be cited when someone asks AI for a recipe idea or product recommendation.
4 min read
A common, understandable question given the pace of AI search development is whether traditional SEO is becoming obsolete — the current evidence and behaviour patterns suggest a more nuanced answer than a simple yes or no.
Evidence pointing toward continued coexistence
- Traditional organic search results continue to exist alongside AI-generated features, not replaced by them.
- Many query types (navigational, highly specific transactional) remain well-served by traditional search without needing AI synthesis.
- AI-generated answers themselves draw substantially on the same underlying search index and quality signals traditional SEO has always optimised for.
Why 'replace' is likely the wrong framing
As covered throughout our AEO vs GEO vs SEO explainer, the underlying content quality work substantially overlaps — AI search features are, in a meaningful sense, an extension and evolution of traditional search infrastructure, not a wholly separate system replacing it.
AI search is not a competitor to SEO trying to replace it — it is closer to SEO's own infrastructure being extended and repurposed for a new kind of output, making 'replace' a fundamentally imprecise way to describe what is actually happening.
What is genuinely changing, even without full replacement
Click-through rate patterns are shifting for certain query types, as covered in our AI Overviews impact guide, and the specific tactics that win visibility are evolving — this represents genuine, significant change without amounting to full replacement of the underlying discipline.
A reasonable strategic conclusion
Continue investing in traditional SEO fundamentals while layering AEO and GEO-specific tactics on top, per the hybrid strategy approach — treating this as an evolution to adapt to, rather than a replacement to either panic about or ignore.
Frequently asked questions
Should businesses reduce traditional SEO investment given AI search growth?
No, the evidence suggests continued, substantial relevance for traditional SEO fundamentals — reducing this investment based on replacement fears would be premature given current evidence.
Is this coexistence pattern likely to remain stable over time?
The specific balance may continue shifting, but full replacement of traditional search infrastructure seems unlikely in any near-term timeframe based on current evidence and behaviour.
How should a business allocate resources between traditional SEO and AEO/GEO specifically?
Given the substantial overlap, most resources should go toward shared fundamentals, with a smaller, additional allocation toward the genuinely distinct AEO/GEO-specific tactics covered throughout this series.
If you want help balancing traditional SEO and AI search strategy, talk to our team.
The takeaway
Continue investing in traditional SEO fundamentals alongside AEO and GEO tactics — the evidence currently points toward coexistence and convergence, not replacement, making an either-or framing genuinely the wrong question.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
Keep reading
Related articles
AEO and GEO for global outreach: how AI search is changing B2B buyer research
How exporters running global cold email campaigns should account for AI-assisted buyer research alongside their existing outreach and landing page strategy.
4 min readAEO and GEO for exporters: getting cited when an overseas buyer asks AI for a supplier
How Indian exporters can position specific, verifiable capability content to be cited when an overseas buyer asks AI for a matching supplier.
4 min readNext step
Tell us what you are trying to grow.
Send the problem in a paragraph. We will reply within one working day with an honest view of whether we can help, and what it is likely to cost.