Published on September 16th, 2025
Ever wondered why some brands effortlessly show up when you ask ChatGPT for product recommendations—while others remain invisible?
That question drove Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite and a veteran of 18 years in SEO, to rethink how businesses grow in the age of AI assistants.
What he found isn’t just a tweak on old SEO—it’s an entirely new playbook called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Below is a clear, structured breakdown of Ethan’s biggest insights on winning at AEO.
What AEO Really Means
Traditional SEO is about ranking a single webpage #1 on Google. AEO flips that logic.
Large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity don’t show one winner—they weave together multiple credible sources into a single answer.
To win, a brand must be the name mentioned so often that the AI can’t ignore it.
Nine Takeaways from Ethan Smith’s AEO Playbook
1. Mentions Beat Rankings
In Google, the #1 blue link takes the crown. In ChatGPT, the winner is the product cited most often across multiple places.
Ethan’s move: seed mentions everywhere—Reddit threads, YouTube videos, industry blogs, and affiliate posts.
Five authentic mentions can outweigh one #1 ranking.
2. LLM Traffic Converts 6× Better
Users who arrive via AI assistants come after deep question-and-answer sessions, meaning their intent is stronger.
Case in point: Webflow saw signups convert six times better from ChatGPT than from Google search.
3. Startups Can Win on Day One
Forget waiting years to build domain authority. A new Y Combinator startup mentioned in a single Reddit comment today can show up in ChatGPT answers tomorrow.
The AEO field is level, and speed favors the bold.
4. The Long Tail Is 4× Bigger Than SEO
AI queries are often 25 words or more, far more specific than typical six-word Google searches.
Example: “Which meeting transcription tool integrates with Looker via Zapier to BigQuery?”
Owning such micro-niches can create a moat of intent-rich traffic.
5. Reddit Is the New Kingmaker
ChatGPT trusts Reddit because its communities self-police spam better than any algorithm.
Ethan’s advice: create one real account, say who you are, and give genuinely helpful answers. Five thoughtful comments can transform visibility.
6. YouTube Is a B2B Gold Mine
The driest B2B terms—like “AI-powered payment processing APIs”—often have zero video competition.
Producing explainer videos around these overlooked phrases can put your product front and center in AI-generated answers.
7. Your Help Center Is Now a Growth Channel
Customers ask ChatGPT endless “Does your product do X?” questions. Each is an opportunity.
Ethan recommends moving help docs from subdomain to subdirectory, cross-linking aggressively, and covering every possible feature question.
8. January 2025: The AEO Inflection Point
When ChatGPT added clickable maps, shopping cards, and citations, usage exploded.
Webflow’s signups from AI jumped from near zero to 8% of total signups—a sign of the channel’s accelerating growth.
9. The Complete AEO Playbook
Ethan outlines a repeatable system:
- Find questions using competitor paid-search data.
- Track which answers appear and who’s cited.
- Build landing pages that answer every follow-up question.
- Earn mentions offsite (Reddit, YouTube, affiliates).
- Run controlled experiments to test and refine.
- Assemble a dedicated AEO team.
Why It Matters
AEO is SEO 2.0 for the AI era—and early adopters can leapfrog industry giants by being discoverable wherever AI assistants look for answers.
If you’ve just launched—or are still sketching ideas on a whiteboard—you don’t need years of SEO to get noticed.
- Start small today: Drop a thoughtful answer in one relevant Reddit thread.
- Publish a micro-niche help article: Cover that specific customer question no one else is writing about.
- Record a five-minute YouTube explainer: Even the most “boring” B2B keyword can become your growth rocket.
The field is wide open. Begin planting those mentions now, and you could see ChatGPT recommending your product tomorrow.
👉 For a deeper dive into this strategy, watch the full conversation between Ethan Smith (CEO of Graphite) and Lenny Rachitsky. It’s packed with insights for early-stage founders ready to win at AEO immediately.
