The AIO/GEO hype was so bad that Google had to publish a guide to debunk the myths.
I remember having a conversation recently with a fellow SEO expert, and I was sharing my thoughts on the hype — how people were echoing and selling these separate "specialties," promoting them as "new," when they were actually either the same old good SEO tactics, or just unfounded myths not backed by data.
"This is how we optimize for AIO" or "This AI-powered tool makes your site appear in LLMs every time" — and stuff like that.
Obviously I mentioned as an example the llm.txt case, where even major sources like some Search Engine Journal articles would echo the hype — and even SEMrush would have an AI audit where one of the parameters was whether you had that file. If you didn't, you "needed" it. His response?
"Oh, yeah, I did that for my sites, and I'm having great results."(Internal thought: "… Sure.")
I said, "Okay, but they don't use it the way search engines do, though." His tone changed for the rest of the conversation and 3 minutes later: "Ok buddy, gotta go, talk to ya later."
From technical discussions to client meetings, we too were forced to incorporate those new terms into our vocabulary. If you didn't, well, you didn't know what you were doing — or were considered outdated, not part of the "evolution." Most of the time this happens because "we need to speak the client's language" — and when educating some clients, it gets really difficult, near impossible. (That's another article-thesis to write.)
Yes, I received those looks and awkward silences for saying things like:
"Major AI platforms do not officially support llm.txt. Instead of acting as a strict rulebook, the file is treated as unstructured background text — meaning AI crawlers ignore its instructions and continue to rely on standard HTML, sitemaps, and existing web scrapes."
Or:
"If you are not structuring content, using proper markups, clustering topics, and building topical authority— what were you doing all these years?"
A small group of SEOs — like Mark Williams-Cook — grounded experts I follow on LinkedIn — share most of the same thoughts on several "hype" aspects. It's almost just common sense: if you take your time to research and understand how these things actually work, you can easily differentiate what works and what doesn't. Period.
Google Saw the Mess — and Had to Clarify
Now Google saw all the nonsense being not only preached but also sold to audiences and clients, and had to clarify the record:
developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide
What Google's Guide Actually Says
On llms.txt files and special markup: You don't need to create machine-readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown to appear in generative AI search. Google may discover many file types beyond HTML, but that doesn't mean those files receive special treatment.
On "chunking" content: There is no requirement to break content into small pieces for AI systems. Google's systems "are able to understand the nuance of multiple topics on a page and show the relevant piece to users."
On rewriting content for AI: AI systems can understand synonyms and general meanings. Site owners don't need to capture every long-tail keyword variation or write in a specific way for generative AI search.
On seeking inauthentic mentions: AI features can surface what's said about products and services across blogs, videos, and forums — but seeking inauthentic mentions "isn't as helpful as it might seem" because core ranking systems focus on quality while other systems block spam.
On structured data: It isn't required for generative AI search and there's no special schema.org markup to add. Continue using structured data as part of an overall SEO strategy for rich results eligibility.
Source: Search Engine Journal
The Bottom Line Google Recommends
Google recommends following crawling best practices, using semantic HTML where possible, following JavaScript SEO best practices, providing good page experience, and reducing duplicate content.
These are not new. These are not "AI-era" tactics. These are the same fundamentals that have driven organic search performance for years — and they remain the correct strategy today.
The Hype Defenders
Now there are tons of those "hype" lovers publishing against that article in pure denial: "Oh, now Google is telling us what to do?" or "Google is like: do what I say, not what I do."
Well, it seems the hype holds all the knowledge — they have all the answers. Of course they have to defend what they've been posting and selling since last year.
The basics still win. Stop chasing hype. Focus on quality, relevance, and real value — and your SEO strategy will outlast every new acronym that gets invented next quarter.
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