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From SEO to AEO: The New Search

Understanding how these crawlers work — and how to make your site AI-friendly — is becoming as important as traditional SEO. Let’s explore what AI crawlers are, why they matter, and what you can do to prepare.

2 min read

From SEO to AEO: The Next Frontier

Search engines aren’t the only ones crawling your website anymore.
A new way to search has emerged — AI crawlers. These automated bots power tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. Instead of indexing your site for search results, they read your content to train AI models and help AI systems provide better answers.

Understanding how these crawlers work — and how to make your site AI-friendly — is quickly becoming as important as traditional SEO. Let’s explore what AI crawlers are, why they matter, and what you can do to prepare.

The New Generation of Web Crawlers

For decades, Googlebot and Bingbot have scanned websites to build search engine indexes.
Now, AI crawlers are doing something similar — but for a different purpose.

They visit websites, read the text, and learn from it. That knowledge helps large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini answer user questions more accurately.

Here’s the key difference:

  • Search crawlers organize information for search rankings.
  • AI crawlers learn from information to generate human-like responses.

So while Google still indexes pages for search visibility, AI crawlers decide what information AIs can “see” and use when answering users.

Why AI Crawlers Matter to You

AI crawlers aren’t just a tech curiosity — they’re already reshaping how people find and trust information online,AI-powered search is growing fast — over 400% year over year.

That means:
If your content is readable, structured, and accessible, it can appear in millions of AI-generated answers.
But if your site blocks or confuses these crawlers, you might disappear from this new discovery channel altogether.

How AI Crawlers Work

AI crawlers are automated scripts that follow links across the web, looking for public, high-quality text content.

They usually:

  1. Request your website pages like a regular browser would.
  2. Extract text from your HTML — ignoring navigation, ads, and styling.
  3. Store that text to improve their AI model or answer engines.

Unlike traditional bots, most AI crawlers:

  • Don’t execute JavaScript (they prefer simple HTML).
  • Respect robots.txt rules.
  • Return often to updated pages.
  • Prefer pages with clear structure and original insights.

How to Optimize for AI Crawlers

Optimizing for AI crawlers isn’t just about visibility — it’s about clarity.
Here’s how to make sure AI systems can understand and use your content correctly.

1. Welcome AI Crawlers

Add explicit permissions in your robots.txt file:

# Allow major AI crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /

This ensures the most reputable AI bots can access your site safely.

2. Use Clear, Structured Content

AI models process information best when it’s organized logically:

  • Use headings (H1, H2, H3) to break down sections.
  • Add short summaries at the top of articles.
  • Include Schema.org markup for products, FAQs, or reviews.
  • Write in simple, natural language.

3. Prioritize Text-First Content

AI crawlers primarily read text, not images or JavaScript-heavy pages.
Keep key information visible in HTML and include:

  • Descriptive alt text for images
  • Author names and publish dates
  • Fast-loading, server-rendered content

4. Create AI-Friendly Formats

Certain types of content perform especially well in AI-generated results:

  • Listicles and numbered guides
  • Definition-style explanations (“What is X?”)
  • Step-by-step how-to guides
  • Comparison posts (“X vs Y”)
  • FAQ sections with direct answers

These are easy for AI systems to summarize and cite.

The Shift from SEO to AEO (AI Engine Optimization)

For years, SEO has focused on ranking higher in Google.
Now, a new frontier is emerging: AEO — AI Engine Optimization.

Instead of optimizing for keywords alone, AEO means optimizing your content so AI systems can understand and reuse it accurately.

It’s not just about being found — it’s about being trusted by AI models that generate answers across millions of conversations every day.

Measuring Your AI Visibility

You can track how AI crawlers interact with your site by:

  • Checking your server logs for user agents like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, or PerplexityBot.
  • Monitoring AI mentions — test your brand name in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to see if it appears in results.
  • Using analytics tools that track AI crawler activity and visibility trends.

This helps you understand which AIs are learning from your content — and how that impacts your visibility.

Ready to See How AI Crawlers View Your Site?

Want to know which AI bots visit your site — and how your content appears in AI-generated answers?
Start your free AI visibility audit today with Lantern and get insights into how ChatGPT, Claude, and other systems interpret your brand.