The New SEO Terms You Need to Know in 2026

About This Episode

GEO, AEO, AIO. The acronyms keep arriving, so which of these new SEO terms actually mean something?

In this episode of SEO On-Air, host Koa Kauwe sits down with Chad de Lisle (Disruptive Advertising) and Jake Gauntley (Rise at Seven) to discuss which new search terminology is worth learning and which exists mainly to sell retainers.

The panel explores why both of them refuse to rebrand. Chad calls GEO clever marketing, a buzzword built to get CEOs asking their agency about it, and argues what mattered a generation ago still matters most. Jake says Rise at Seven has deliberately not doubled down on the acronym, because clients already know SEO helps with AI visibility and selling it as new edges toward snake oil. Where they agree: execution is being commoditized, and average content just got far easier to produce at scale.

They also discuss where AI genuinely helps teams scale versus where it quietly destroys quality, why an untrained model just proliferates noise, the tool stack question and why Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT get used for different jobs, whether SEO and PPC are converging into one search strategy, and why brand mentions still carry weight without a link attached.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

– Whether GEO and AEO are real disciplines or clever marketing

– Why the fundamentals that mattered before still matter most

– Why AI made average content easier rather than better

– Where AI helps SEO teams scale and where it damages quality

– Why an untrained AI model just creates noise in every channel

– Which AI tools these agencies use for which specific jobs

– Whether SEO and PPC are becoming one search strategy

– Why the search results page is best treated as real estate

– Where brand authority actually comes from today

– Why brand mentions matter even without a link attached

Whether you’re an agency owner, SEO professional, digital marketer, or business leader, this episode provides actionable insights into cutting through the acronym cycle, using AI without diluting quality, and understanding where brand authority actually comes from now.

Because the agencies worth hiring won’t be the ones selling you the newest acronym.

They’ll be the ones who can tell you what has not changed.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Introduction to SEO On-Air & Meet the Guests

03:48 Are We Entering a New Era of Search or Renaming SEO?

08:19 Should the Industry Redefine Its Terminology for Clients?

11:47 Which SEO Tactics Stopped Working & Which Still Hold

17:02 The Part of AI That Is Genuinely Overhyped

17:47 Where AI Helps Teams Scale & Where It Gets Abused

24:45 The AI Tool Stack: Claude, Gemini & ChatGPT

27:48 Are SEO & PPC Becoming One Search Strategy?

33:18 Does Brand Matter More in Search Now?

39:32 Brand Mentions as a Strategy Without Links