This is the era of Generative and Assistive Engine Optimization – and it starts by moving from the “All” tab to the “AI Mode” tab in Google.
In 2017, onstage at SEOCamp in France, I introduced a concept I called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — a new approach to digital visibility that asked a simple question: What if the goal isn’t ranking, but being the answer?
In 2018, I took the message further — presenting it again at SEOCamp, writing about Answer Engine Optimization in Search Engine Watch and a 15 episode series “SEOisAEO” on SEMrush, and warning that the traditional obsession with keywords and backlinks was becoming irrelevant. I shared the universal and timeless strategy where the brand becomes the most trusted, most helpful, most accurate solution in the eyes of search engines… that strategy is The Kalicube Process™.
That future has now arrived.
In May 2025, Google made it official with the rollout of AI Mode — a new tab in Google Search that doesn’t just list links, but makes decisions.
2025 is the real SEO shift: from being found in the “All” tab… to being recommended in AI Mode.
In the past, you fought for visibility on the “All” tab — ranking among ten blue links.
Now, Google AI Mode synthesizes your entire digital presence into a single, opinionated summary. It:
- Breaks your audience’s question into subtopics
- Analyzes dozens (sometimes hundreds) of sources
- Renders an answer it believes is most helpful
- Includes or excludes your brand — based on how well it understands, trusts, and can verify your message
No tricks. No hacks. Just algorithmic judgment.
And this isn’t isolated to Google.
AI Mode is just the first mass-market product in a global trend. Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, Bing Copilot, and Claude are all building interfaces where AI is the guide. And that means you’re no longer competing for clicks — you’re competing for belief.
Welcome to the next phase: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Assistive Engine Optimization (AEO 2.0)
You’re not optimizing for page rankings anymore. You’re optimizing to be:
- The brand AI summarizes (GEO)
- The brand AI recommends (AEO 2.0)
In other words: You want to own the narrative, not just the ranking.
And that’s where most companies are falling behind — because they’re still stuck in a playbook built for the “All” tab.
The Kalicube Process is the solution. Purpose-built for Generative and Assistive Engine Optimization.
This isn’t traditional SEO with a facelift. The Kalicube Process is a ground-up, brand-first, algorithm-friendly system designed to teach machines:
Who you are,
Why you matter,
And when to recommend you.
We don’t guess. We don’t game.
We engineer brand authority with precision — using a methodology built on three pillars:
1. Understandability (Control)
Can AI confidently understand who you are, what you offer, and who you serve?
We build your Entity Home, unify your digital footprint, and give algorithms a consistent, machine-readable source of truth.
2. Credibility (Influence)
Are you seen as the most trustworthy option in your niche?
We optimize for N-E-E-A-T-T — Notability, Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust, Transparency — and align your brand with respected peers so algorithms feel safe recommending you.
3. Deliverability (Visibility)
Do you show up in AI answers, assistant conversations, and knowledge-driven recommendations?
We make sure you’re omnipresent across the platforms that matter — not just Google AI Mode, but also Perplexity, ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini.
Our tech advantage in Generative Engine Optimization (AEO 2.0): Kalicube Pro™
Kalicube Pro, our proprietary platform trained on 3+ billion data points, helps us:
- Diagnose how algorithms currently see your brand
- Detect contradictions, confusion, and invisibility
- Build a custom roadmap to control, influence, and dominate your digital ecosystem
We don’t optimize websites. We optimize how AI sees you.
The result of the perfectly executed GEO strategy is The Perfect Click.
That magical moment when AI recommends your brand and the buyer converts — because they believe in you.
SEO was about traffic. Generative Engine Optimization is about trust.
Traditional SEO:
- Rank for a keyword
- Get the click
- Hope they convert
Modern SEO = The Kalicube Process (which will ensure your brand dominates organic digital marketing and Assistive Generative Engines)
- Be understood
- Be believed
- Be recommended
- Earn conversions through confidence
If you’ve come across terms like Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Generative Search Optimization (GSO), Answer Engine Optimization, Ask Engine Optimization, Assistive Engine Optimization, AEO 2.0, Search Experience Optimization (SXO), Conversational Optimization, Generative Search Optimization (GSO), Zero-Click Optimization, AI Search Optimization, or Semantic Search Optimization – here’s something important to know: These aren’t separate disciplines. They’re different labels for the same fundamental shift – SEO evolving to meet the demands of AI-driven search.
Jason Barnard already defined the field of AEO (here on SEMrush YouTube) – and Jason coined the term Answer Engine Optimization in 2018, before the new labels arrived. That early insight shaped what we now call Generative Engine Optimization.
If you’re still optimizing for the “All” tab on Google, you’re already falling behind.
AI Mode is just the first domino. The future of search is generative, assistive, and intelligent. The companies that move now will define the narrative. The ones that wait will be left out of the conversation entirely.
That’s what The Kalicube Process solves.
It future-proofs your brand in Google, in AI, and across the entire digital ecosystem.
