From SEO to AEO: How Nonprofits Stay Relevant When AI Answers Everything

Search isn’t what it used to be.

That’s not a headline. It’s a fact.

For years, SEO was about creating content that helped you rank for the right keywords, appear at the top of Google, and bring people to your site where you could capture their attention—and hopefully their email or donation.

But now?

Now, when someone searches, they don’t get ten blue links and a chance to choose.

They get an answer.

That answer is stitched together by an AI system that pulls from dozens of sources, summarizes what it knows, and delivers something that often skips your website entirely.

Welcome to the AI layer.

In this new world, your nonprofit’s visibility doesn’t come from ranking first.

It comes from being included.

Included in the summaries, citations, training data, and source material that answer engines like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, or whatever’s next draw from.

This isn’t just a technical change. It’s a strategic one.

We’re shifting from SEO to AEO: Answer Engine Optimization.

Here’s some stats for you to think about:

• 8% of US Consumers now use ChatGPT as their primary Search Engine, up from 1% a year ago.
• 70% of Google searches are now zero clicks (IE no click after search results are presented) according to SparkToro
• Sites providing informational content (“what is,” “how to”) are experiencing Organic traffic drops ranging 18% to 64% over the past year alone.
• As you head into 2026, you are going to lose 30% of your Organic Traffic from reduced opportunity, and 15% of Paid Traffic from reduced inventory (Avinash Kaushik)

Big picture – things are changing and changing fast. 

So what does this mean practically?

It means we need to stop thinking in terms of clicks and start thinking in terms of trust, relevance, and presence.

Your website still matters—but not because people are browsing it the same way.

It matters because it’s a source.

And it has to look like one.

That means your content needs to be modular, structured, and citable.

It means publishing clearly written FAQs, program overviews, definitions, impact data, and thought leadership in a format that AI systems can scan, reference, and remix.

It also means you can’t rely on organic search alone to bring new people into your orbit.

Because many of those discovery moments are now happening inside AI platforms—well before someone lands on your site.

So you have to make your brand recognizable.

That’s not just about logos or colour palettes. It’s about memory.

Do people remember your name?

Have they heard about your work?

Have they seen your video on TikTok or your executive director quoted in an article?

When someone searches for “climate action nonprofits near me,” does the AI already know you’re a good answer?

That’s where AEO becomes real.

Mid-funnel engagement is changing too.

Traditionally, a supporter might Google a topic, click on a blog post, read about your work, and sign up for a newsletter or download a report.

Now, the AI may answer their question directly—and they might never visit your site.

So instead of relying on traffic, we need to invest in owned relationships.

Build your email list. Grow your SMS list. Create a newsletter people want to open—not because they searched for it, but because they remember you.

And when they do land on your site, make the experience useful.

Not flashy. Not clever. Useful.

Answer questions. Suggest next steps. Help them connect.

At the bottom of the funnel, the question is no longer, “How do we get someone to donate?”

It’s, “How do we become the most trustworthy option when someone’s ready to act?”

That means your donation experience needs to be seamless. But it also means your organization needs to be the one AI tools cite when someone asks, “Where should I give to support X?”

You earn that trust by being transparent.

By publishing impact reports. By keeping your data accurate. By showing up consistently across channels.

And increasingly, by paying attention to how AI systems learn about you.

Because the new homepage isn’t your website—it’s the answer someone gets from an AI tool.

It’s worth repeating:

SEO was about ranking.

SEM was about paying for relevance.

AEO is about being referenced.

And that requires a different kind of thinking.

You need structured data. You need clean, useful content. You need to make it easy for AI systems to understand who you are, what you do, and why you matter.

You also need to diversify your traffic sources.

Relying on organic search alone is a risk.

Pair your AEO efforts with brand campaigns across platforms like YouTube, Meta, or connected TV.

Run experiments with paid search and AI-driven ad formats.

And make sure you’re capturing data at every step—because owned data is one of the few things you can control in this new landscape.

This shift is big.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it.

But for nonprofits, it’s also a chance to step back and ask a better question:

Not, “How do we rank higher?”

But, “How do we make sure we’re part of the answer?”

I’ll be writing more on this topic over the months ahead – in the meantime I’m am happy to chat about this in context of your organization if you’re interested.

Our team is already working with our active clients to start incorporating the new AI realities into their fundraising and marketing strategies for the year ahead. 

Yours in Fundraising.
Erik