Short answer
SEO is the broader discipline.
AEO is the retrieval and answer-surface layer inside that broader discipline.
If the technical base is weak, classic SEO cleanup usually comes first. If the base is already decent but the site is still hard for machines to interpret and cite, AEO becomes the next leverage point.
What overlaps
Both depend on:
- crawlable pages
- canonicals
- metadata
- internal links
- clear page purpose
- schema that matches the content
What changes with AEO
AEO puts more pressure on:
- cleaner main pages
- fewer overlapping intents
- answer-first sections
- retrieval-friendly support pages
- machine-readable context that stays coherent across the site