Monday: Perplexity's citation play
Tuesday: Google's defensive reframe
Wednesday: Publishers blocking bots
Today: What middlemen do when the game changes.
They change the name. Not the game.
SEO Agencies Rebrand as "AEO Experts" in Record Time:
The moment "Answer Engine Optimization" hit LinkedIn, SEO agencies saw the opportunity.
Within 48 hours:
Websites updated: "We now offer AEO!"
LinkedIn bios changed: "AEO Strategist"
Service pages rewritten: "Get ahead of the AI search revolution"
The tactics? Literally the same as SEO.
Structured content
Clear headings
Data-backed claims
Quotable statements
Just with a new three-letter acronym.
And somehow... it's working.
New "AEO tools" launched in 2025. Agencies pivoted their entire positioning. Same people. Same services. New packaging.
The 59-sec takeaway:
When your industry shifts, rebrand before you rebuild.
SEO agencies could've panicked. Instead:
Renamed the service (SEO → AEO)
Positioned it as "cutting-edge"
Charged the same (or more)
The work barely changed. The framing changed everything.
The Playbook:
When the market shifts, don't abandon expertise. Reframe it.
"Social media manager" → "Short-form content strategist"
"Copywriter" → "Conversion messaging architect"
"Consultant" → "Fractional CMO"
"Marketing tips" → "Pattern recognition training" ;)
Same skills. Better positioning gives a higher perceived value.
Same product. Better positioning gives you premium pricing.
The Playbook:
The SEO → AEO rebrand is the safest, most predictable move.
Zero risk. Zero innovation. Pure linguistic arbitrage.
But does it work long-term?
If every agency does it, "AEO expert" becomes meaningless in 6 months.
Then they'll rebrand again.
Remember:
2010: "Social Media Ninja"
2014: "Growth Hacker"
2017: "Content Wizard"
2020: "Brand Storyteller"
2025: "AEO Expert"
The pattern:
Rebrand fast → saturate market → term dies → rebrand again.
It's Option D. The safe bet. The grift.
Clue #4 collected.
Tomorrow: Quiz + final predictions. Winner announced Monday.
Peace,
Pavan
P.S. Tomorrow: Quiz on all 4 clues + final predictions due. Let's see who has the best prediction.
P.P.S. Don't forward this to your marketer friends if you want to keep your edge. Pattern recognition = competitive advantage.