Is AEO a strategy or just good marketing finally being held accountable?

The more I work in this space the more I think AEO isn't new — it's just the first time the algorithm actually rewards doing things right.

Every signal that drives AI citation — consistent positioning, independent mentions, genuine community presence, topical depth — is just good marketing done properly over time. The brands struggling with AEO aren't missing a tactic, they're missing the foundation that should have been there already. AI didn't create a new game, it just made the old shortcuts stop working.

Is AEO changing how you think about marketing fundamentally or just validating what you already believed?