Become an AI-Forward Microsoft Partner
Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes
Intended Audience: Microsoft Partners, Marketers
AI is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With the AI market expected to increase corporate profitability by 38% in the next decade, and 83% of companies prioritizing AI, it’s clear that it’s driving a major shift in productivity and competitive advantage.
“We have to recognize that this is the fastest-growing technology we’ve seen in decades, and likely the fastest we’ll see in our lifetime. The train has left the station, and it’s a bullet train. When it comes to marketing, it’s the express train.”
As AI evolves, it’s changing how content is created, discovered, and ranked. Let’s explore strategies we’ve uncovered for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and how to use AI across your marketing campaigns.
Want the full scoop? Watch the on-demand Multi-Channel Marketing with AI webinar here.
What’s the difference between AEO and SEO?
AI-powered tools are changing how users search and consume content. To stay visible, marketers need to rethink their optimization strategies, starting with understanding the difference between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).
- SEO is all about improving your website’s visibility in traditional search engine results.
It involves keyword research, optimizing on-page content, improving technical performance, and building backlinks. - AEO focuses on making your content easily discoverable by answer engines, like voice assistants, AI chats, and featured snippets.
It prioritizes clear, concise answers, structured data (like schema markup), and conversational formats.
In short, SEO helps users find your site, while AEO helps engines deliver your content as the answer.
How can I use AEO to show up on AI?
As AI tools become more integrated into how we search and make decisions, it’s worth pausing to consider how this shift affects your content strategy. Unlike traditional search engines, AI tools respond to questions, not just keywords. That means if your content isn’t structured to answer those questions clearly, it might not show up at all.
As Erica Hakonson, CEO of Maven Collective, puts it: “We are adjusting for AEO because we know the way people prompt is not the way people search.”
We dive into this in more detail in our webinar, but here’s a quick teaser:
- Think about adding FAQ sections to your webpages.
- Use question-based headers in blog posts to mirror how users prompt AI tools.
These strategies help your content appear in voice search results, featured snippets, and AI chat responses by making it easier for AI systems to understand, extract, and deliver your content as a relevant answer.
How can I use AI for blog writing?
Now that we’ve covered how to optimize your content to show up in AI-powered tools, let’s shift focus to how AI can support the blog writing process, helping you work faster, smarter, and more strategically.
AI can be a powerful partner in your content workflow, but only if you know how to guide it. From crafting the right prompt to refining the output and aligning it with your brand, there’s a method to getting the most out of AI tools.
At Maven Collective Marketing, we’ve spent time testing and refining how to use AI effectively in blog creation. Through that process, we’ve developed a step-by-step approach, from prompt to publish, that helps ensure the final content is not only efficient, but also on-brand and impactful.
At the end of the day, AI should amplify your voice, not replace it. When used thoughtfully, it becomes a creative partner that helps you bring your ideas to life with more clarity, speed, and impact, while still sounding like you.
How can AI streamline content creation?
AI can enhance every stage of content creation, from ideation to repurposing, making your workflow faster, more efficient, and more scalable.
Start by using AI to generate high-quality blog posts based on your strategy and audience needs. Once your blog is ready, repurpose it into social media content by prompting AI to tailor posts for specific platforms.
By integrating AI throughout your marketing workflow, you can transform a single piece of content into a full suite of branded assets, like videos, graphics, and audio, streamlining production and maximizing impact across channels.
Take the lead with AI-driven marketing
AI is transforming how content is created, discovered, and delivered, and marketers who embrace this shift are gaining a clear edge. By optimizing for AEO and integrating AI into your content creation workflow, you can boost visibility, streamline production, and scale your multi-channel marketing efforts with confidence.
Want to learn more about using AI in your marketing campaigns? Watch the full Multi-Channel Marketing with AI webinar to explore strategies and real-world examples.
If you’re ready to start making AI work for your business, book a consultation with the Maven Collective team to learn more about our AEO and Multi-Channel AI Campaign Package and how it can help your content show up where it matters most.
