Austin Heaton | AEO Consultant & AI Visibility Leadership
AEO Consulting & AI Visibility Leadership

Best AEO Consultant in 2026 — Austin Heaton

Get more customers and visibility from AI Search

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Consulting for companies that need to be cited, quoted, and trusted by AI Search Engines.

If your buyers are researching in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, or Gemini — and your company is not referenced — you are losing influence long before a sales conversation starts.

I work as your AEO Consultant and AI Visibility Lead, owning strategy, prioritization, and executive-level direction so your company becomes a default source in AI-powered discovery.

This is not SEO rebranded. This is about owning answers in AI systems that shape buying decisions.

Book a Call

Proof of Authority

12+
Years leading organic growth and search strategy
18K+
Keywords ranked in top 3 positions
25%
Average traffic growth in 90 days
Early
Operator in AI search, GEO, and AEO systems

Trusted by SaaS, fintech, Web3, and service companies — Featured in

SimilarWeb Zapier FastCompany European Business Review
The Problem

Why Most Companies Lose in AI Search

Most companies are invisible in AI search — not because they lack content, but because no one owns AI visibility at a strategic level.

They fail because:

  • AI discovery has no executive owner
  • SEO stops at rankings, not citations or answers
  • Content is not structured for LLM retrieval
  • Entity authority is fragmented across teams
  • AI search is treated as experimental instead of mission-critical
  • Measurement stops at traffic, not influence or revenue impact

The outcome is predictable:

  • Competitors are cited instead
  • Brand influence erodes silently
  • Traffic exists without control
  • Visibility does not compound
Publishing more content only increases the cost of being wrong.
Market Reality

Why AEO Is Now Critical for Companies at Scale

AI-driven discovery is already reshaping how demand is created, influenced, and captured. For large organizations and scaling startups, the opportunity cost of inaction compounds rapidly.

Traditional search is shrinking

Gartner predicts traditional search engine volume will decline by 25% by 2026 as users shift toward AI chatbots and virtual agents. Discovery is moving upstream — before intent is measurable in analytics.

AI traffic converts materially better

Referral traffic from platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude consistently shows significantly higher conversion rates than traditional organic traffic — often 10x or more in B2B contexts. Lower volume with materially higher buyer quality.

AI mentions create a compounding halo effect

Brands referenced directly in AI answers experience a 38% lift in organic clicks and a 39% increase in paid ad clicks, even when users do not click the AI response itself.

Zero-click search is already the default

Nearly 60% of Google searches now end without a click, with AI Overviews driving 20-30%+ CTR declines on affected queries. Companies ignoring AEO lose share of voice even when rankings remain stable.

Disproportionate revenue impact from AI visibility

While AI-driven traffic often represents only 1-2% of sessions today, it can account for up to 10% of revenue in B2B SaaS and enterprise services. Early adopters see stronger brand authority, shorter sales cycles, and better ROI.

AEO is no longer about traffic acquisition. It is about owning influence where decisions are formed.
Common Mistakes

The Hidden Cost of Ignoring AEO

Most large companies and scale-stage startups fall into one of three traps:

Trap 01

Rely on Traditional SEO

  • Optimized for blue links
  • Rankings without AI presence
  • No control over how models reference you
Trap 02

Chase Tactical AI Experiments

  • Prompt testing without foundation
  • No durable authority system
  • Results reset with every model update
Trap 03

Delay Ownership

  • Assume SEO will cover it
  • Lose category influence quietly
  • React only after competitors dominate answers

This engagement exists because AI discovery now shapes market perception before intent is visible.

The Solution

The Alternative: Dedicated AEO Leadership

Instead of fragmented execution, you get clear ownership of AI visibility.

I (Austin Heaton) operate as your AEO Consultant and AI Visibility Lead, accountable for:

  • Strategic direction
  • Entity and authority alignment
  • Answer and citation eligibility
  • Prioritization across teams
  • Long-term defensibility in AI search
Executive Ownership

Not deliverables. Direction and outcomes.

Single-Threaded Accountability
The Engagement

What You Are Actually Buying

You are not buying:

  • Blog production
  • Prompt libraries
  • Generic AI frameworks
  • SEO checklists renamed

You are buying:

Strategic Control of AI Visibility

Know exactly why, where, and how your company appears in AI answers.

High-Leverage Decision Making

Stop debating tactics. Focus resources where AI systems actually retrieve information.

Durable Market Influence

Build authority systems that persist across interfaces and model updates.

Visibility Where Buyers Decide

Be present during research, not after intent is declared.

Single-Threaded Ownership

One accountable owner for direction and outcomes.

Fit Assessment

Who This Is For

This Is a Fit If You:

  • Operate at scale or are scaling aggressively
  • Care about demand capture and influence, not vanity metrics
  • Already invest in growth and execution
  • Need senior ownership without hiring

This Is Not a Fit If You:

  • Want low-cost execution
  • Expect instant tactics or hacks
  • Cannot implement strategic direction
  • Treat AI search as optional
Engagement Details

Ready to Own Your AI Visibility?

Advisory-led AEO consulting Complex organizations & high-growth startups Multi-month engagement recommended Limited capacity for depth & focus
Book a Call with Austin Heaton

If AI search is shaping how buyers discover, evaluate, and shortlist — and no one owns your visibility — you are already paying for it.

This engagement gives you control, clarity, and compounding influence in AI discovery before it becomes table stakes.

Book a Call with Austin Heaton