Five AEO Methods for Your Marketing That Work in 2026

Let’s agree on one thing: we write for humans.

Earlier, content was discovered mostly through search engines. Today, the discovery medium has shifted to AI chatbots. The medium has changed, not the reader and the fundamentals never change. So instead of panicking about algorithms, we need to adapt how we structure, distribute, and format content without forgetting who it's for.

Below are five practical ways to do that.

1. Make Your Content Extractable

AI tools don’t read content end-to-end.They scan, extract, and reuse answers. Humans behave the same way before they decide to read in detail.

That’s why your content should be easy to skim and easy to understand in a short time.

Instead of a long narrative intro, start with clear answers:

• What is this about?
• Why does it matter?
• How can I apply it?

Formats like FAQs, bullet points, and sub-headings help AI source information easily and help humans consume it faster.

Example

Instead of a long narrative intro

❌ Marketing teams today use multiple tools for campaigns, analytics, social media, email, and customer journeys. Managing all of this across disconnected platforms often leads to inefficiencies, data silos, and poor visibility into marketing performance. Unified marketing platforms like Zoho Marketing Plus can help you manage your marketing from one place.

✅ Start with clear answers

What is this about?
Zoho Marketing Plus helps marketing teams plan, execute, and measure campaigns from one unified platform.

Why does it matter?
When marketing tools are disconnected, teams lose time, data context, and clarity. A unified platform improves execution speed and decision-making.

How can I apply it?
Use Zoho Marketing Plus to centralise campaign planning, content, analytics, and collaboration across your marketing team.

2. Follow an Omnichannel Approach

Content discovery no longer happens in one place. Users might find you via search, social feeds, newsletters, or AI chatbots often in no predictable order.

If your content lives only as a blog post, you’re limiting its impact.

Example
One blog post can be adapted into:

• A LinkedIn post summarising key insights
• A newsletter section
• Multiple short AI-friendly Q&A snippets

The idea remains the same. Only the touchpoints change.

Action steps

• Plan distribution before publishing
• Adapt the message to each channel instead of copy-pasting
• Maintain consistency in language and positioning

Bonus tip

Zoho Marketing Plus lets you manage omnichannel marketing from one place, including email, social media like Instagram, Meta, YouTube, X, TikTok, Mastodon, Bluesky, webinars, events, surveys, and more. With integrated AI features, you can create content once and easily reuse it across multiple channels.

3. Multi-Format Your Content

Not everyone prefers reading. Some users listen, some watch, and some understand faster through visuals. AI systems also process audio transcripts, video captions, and visual metadata.

Changing formats increases reach and improves discoverability.

Example
One blog post can become:

• A short video explaining the core idea
• An audio clip or podcast summarising key points
• An infographic highlighting the main takeaways

The message stays the same. The format changes.

Action steps

• Convert high-performing blogs into short videos or audio clips
• Create simple infographics for frameworks or summaries
• Always add captions, transcripts, and descriptions

4. Be Authentic

Users don’t just visit your website anymore. They chat with AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to learn about your company, read user experiences, and make decisions.

If your brand messaging is authentic, it shows up there.

When real users talk about a good experience you delivered, that signal gets reflected in reviews, discussions, and AI-generated answers. If the experience is poor, that shows up too. There’s no hiding behind polished copy anymore.

Example
If your product genuinely delivers value, users will say:

This tool solved our problem.

The experience was smooth.

Support actually helped.

AI tools surface these signals when users ask about your brand.

Example

Unified marketing platforms like Zoho Marketing Plus can enable your team deliver better experiences to your customers using Zoho Marketing Plus. Try for free for 14-days.

Action steps

Focus on delivering a genuinely good user experience

Use real customer language in your content

Avoid exaggerated claims that users can’t validate

Bonus tip
In an AI-driven world, your product experience is your marketing. Content only amplifies what already exists.

5. It’s Always About Humans

AI is just a discovery layer.
Humans still read, evaluate, and decide.

If your content helps someone understand faster, make a better decision, or take confident action, AI will naturally amplify it.

Example
Clear language, honest insights, and practical guidance outperform keyword-stuffed content every time.

Action steps

• Write as if explaining to one real person
• Prioritise clarity over cleverness
• Remove anything that doesn’t add value

If a human wouldn’t save or share your content, AI is unlikely to surface it either.