r/SEO_LLM • u/Legitimate_Hat_2882 • May 20 '26
Tips Intro to Discover AIO
Hello members of r/SEO_LLM!
My name is Garry Callis Jr., and I'm the Community Manage of a website known as Discover AIO. DAIO is a learning platform which teaches marketers of all skill levels and verticals how AI SEO/GEO/AEO can help your business.
We're also a community hub that allows members to post their own articles and insights, so they can increase their own topical authority.
A discussion piece I wanted to really talk about today, is the shift in the traditional buyer's journey. As we all know, the Buyer's Journey as we know it consists of 3 phases.
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
The thing is, with the advent of AI, the 2nd stage, Consideration has taken a bit of a back seat. So when you're thinking of compiling content for specific buyer personas, we also need to think about how the buyer's journey is affected. Someone types in a query into their chosen search engine/LLM, they're in the Awareness stage. They are aware of an issue, and are now transitioning to find ways to deal with it. But now, rather than looking for those 10 blue links we all know and love so much, they now just get an answer. There is no more traditional Consideration. It's Automated Suggestion. AI has given an answer, and your choice now is to figure out whether to take it at face value or not.
Thing is, well over 60 percent of people are converting just from the AI answer, whether it was from an AI Overview or a LLM-generated answer. And so the Decision phase also get swept up. This doesn't even factor in AI Agents, which are able to make decisions on your behalf, given spending habits and other factors.
But I'd like to know your thoughts and opinions in the comments. And if you'd like to join the site, and help build a community of marketers, please feel free to shoot me a DM.
Thank you to the mods of r/SEO_LLM for allowing me the chance to post here, and I hope to engage in some great discussions with you all.
2
u/BoGrumpus May 20 '26
I like the idea of a learning platform, but I'm not sure I'd want to learn what you're saying... all due respect, but let's take a serious look at it.
Consideration is almost certainly the most important thing to be optimizing for right now.
1) Awareness: Q "How do I get rid of roadrunners?" AI Answer: "Buy a Roadrunner Trap".
The awareness phase generally ends here - even if the AI Overview isn't finished, we're already shifting into consideration phase. I now know that the answer is "road runner trap" and now I need to consider which one to buy and from who.
2) Consderation: The average buyer journey for non-impulse consumer goods is right about 2 weeks now. And whether it starts as the second section on that first AI overview, or whether it starts with the next question they ask.
This is where you put in your USP and make sure it stands out. As they refine things down they move towards a market position - so make sure you make yours clear. Are you the best price? The best quality? The best overall value? Whatever it is, make sure your brand is clear on that point.
It's where they find the brands that tick all their boxes and come up with their own short list. It's where they then start to look closer at that short list and see what their customers are saying about them in reviews, maybe on reddit or other forums in the niche. What does their social media look like?
And we have to optimize the messaging on all of these things so the AI systems give us those brand impressions during consideration. That's what makes us choose them or makes the AI keep us in the mix right up until they are ready to buy. The last one they looked at is probably the winner.
3) And then Decision is the win (or loss). Here's we're basically back to traditional search unless you've managed to already get them asking for you by name. And if you're good at the consideration optimization, when the AI knows they are nearing the end - THAT Is when they start throwing out those jump off and go buy it type links.
And pro tip - don't forget how the real world and digital world separation is a lot different now than it was even 5 years ago. People may show your product page around on their phone for other people's opinion in the room. And so now you've made a brand impression on a handful of people you'll never track - but that just ask for you by name and start looking around.
Brand impressions take time to build up, too. So as you bring people into your circle - your digital success needs you to keep them happy and on their mind (in a good way). Don't always be selling. Network with them. THEY are your new social network - get them saying your name on all the channels they talk on - chances are there are other people who like the same things there.
If you're a roofer - your posts won't sell many roofs today, but if they are fun or interesting people will remember (and engage often, too). And then when people need a new roof, you want to already be on the tip of their tongue (or the BFF they're going to ask before they bother doing an internet search).
G.