I had a conversation with a local business owner recently that stuck with me. Her business had been ranking well on Google for years. Traffic was consistent. Then, slowly, it started dropping — not because her rankings fell, but because fewer people were clicking through to any website at all.
She wasn't doing anything wrong. The game had changed.
This is the reality for a growing number of London, Ontario businesses in 2026 — and it's exactly why I want to talk about AEO.
What is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It's the practice of structuring your website content so that AI-powered tools — like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot — can find, understand, and recommend your business when someone asks a relevant question.
Traditional SEO helps you rank in Google's list of blue links. AEO helps you get cited in the AI-generated answer that now appears above those links — or replaces them entirely.
Here's the scale of what's happening: Google AI Overviews now appear in roughly 55% of all Google searches. ChatGPT processes over 700 million queries every week. And according to research from Gartner, traditional search volume is projected to drop 25% by 2026 as more people turn to AI tools for answers instead of browsing search results.
For a London, Ontario business owner, this means one thing: if your website isn't optimised for AI search, you're becoming invisible to a rapidly growing share of potential customers — even if your SEO is strong.
AEO vs SEO — what's the difference?
Think of it this way:
SEO helps you rank on Google so people can find and click your website.
AEO helps AI tools understand your business so they can recommend you directly in their answers — often without the person ever seeing a search results page.
They're not competing strategies. They're layered. A well-built website in 2026 needs both.
The key difference is what each optimises for. SEO optimises for keywords and backlinks. AEO optimises for clarity, structure, and trustworthiness — the signals AI engines use to decide which businesses to cite and recommend.
Why this matters specifically for London, Ontario businesses
London is one of Ontario's fastest-growing cities — home to over 633,000 residents and anchored by Western University, a strong healthcare sector, manufacturing, and a growing tech ecosystem. Local search volume is significant and increasing.
But here's the opportunity: London is also far less saturated than Toronto. That means businesses that invest in AEO now — before their competitors figure it out — can establish a dominant position in AI-generated local recommendations that compounds over time.
When someone in London types "best web designer near me" or asks ChatGPT "who should I hire to build my business website in London Ontario?", the businesses that appear in those AI answers aren't chosen randomly. They're the ones with the right content structure, schema markup, and local authority signals in place.
What does AEO actually involve?
There are four core components to getting your London, Ontario business visible in AI search:
1. Structured data (schema markup)
This is code added to your website that tells AI engines exactly what your business is, where it operates, what services you offer, and how to contact you. Without schema, AI tools have to guess — and they usually skip businesses they can't confidently identify.
2. FAQ and Q&A content
AI engines love content that directly answers specific questions. If someone asks "how much does a web designer cost in London Ontario?", an AI will cite the website that has a clear, direct answer to that exact question — not the one with the most generic service page copy.
3. Google Business Profile
Your GBP is one of the primary sources AI tools use for local business recommendations. A complete, up-to-date profile with accurate NAP (name, address, phone), categories, photos, and reviews dramatically increases your chances of appearing in AI-generated local answers.
4. Authoritative content
AI engines weight content from credible sources. Blog posts that directly answer the questions your customers are asking, written by a named expert with verifiable credentials, are far more likely to be cited than anonymous service pages.
What does AEO look like in practice?
Here's a real example from what I've done for Spreenge Digital itself.
When you visit spreenge.ca, you'll notice:
A detailed FAQ section that directly answers the questions London Ontario business owners are asking about web design, SEO, and AI visibility
LocalBusiness and FAQPage schema markup injected into the site's code
A named founder (me — Femi Popoola, PMP, MBA, MEng) with verifiable credentials linked to the business entity
Blog content that answers specific, high-intent local questions
The result: Google's Rich Results Test now shows 5 valid structured data items detected on the homepage, and the FAQ content is eligible for rich results in Google Search. The same signals are what feed AI recommendation engines.
How to know if your business is AEO-ready
Run a free instant audit at spreenge.ca/signal. It takes 30 seconds and will show you your current SEO and AEO readiness score, including whether you have schema markup, how your content is structured for AI extraction, and what your top fixes are.
Most London, Ontario business websites I audit are scoring below 50% on AEO readiness. The good news: the fixes are specific and implementable — and businesses that move quickly have a significant first-mover advantage in their category.
Ready to get started?
If you want to talk through what AEO implementation looks like for your specific business, book a free intro call. No pitch — just an honest conversation about where you are and what it would take to get your business showing up in AI search results.
Femi Popoola is the founder of Spreenge Digital, a web design and AEO agency based in London, Ontario. He holds a PMP certification, Executive MBA, and Master of Engineering, and specialises in building Framer websites with full local SEO and AEO implementation for London Ontario small businesses.