SEO consultant: the AEO inquiry surge was one VC-backed tool's outreach campaign
gaganghotra_ · x · 2026-10-19
SEO consultant Gagan Ghotra noticed a wave of inquiries around May-June about building templated pages for AEO (specifically ChatGPT) — and now they've vanished.
The cause: a VC-backed SEO/AEO tool provider ran a big outreach campaign pitching templated pages as the main AEO tactic, prompting companies and non-SEO executives to consult SEO agencies. Once the vendor stopped pushing the tactic, inquiries dried up.
His takeaway: a single well-funded company's push can move the whole market and manufacture a wave of identical demand signals — a cautionary tale for SEO/AEO consultants spotting "fake demand."
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