SEO is Dead? How I Optimized My Next.js SaaS for ChatGPT & Perplexity (AEO)

Everyone is still playing the Google SEO game: stuffing keywords, buying backlinks, and fighting for Page 1. But if you are building a B2B SaaS in 2026 , your target audience (developers, founders, CTOs) has already changed their behavior. They aren't Googling anymore. They are asking: ChatGPT Perplexity Claude Google AI Mode When I launched my micro-SaaS ComplianceRadar (an automated EU AI Act risk scanner), I realized something interesting: Getting to the top of Google might take 6 months . But getting cited by an LLM as an authoritative source can happen almost instantly if you structure your site correctly. Welcome to AEO — AI Engine Optimization. Here are the three things I implemented on day one to make my Next.js SaaS machine-readable for AI systems. 1. The Secret Weapon: llms.txt Just like robots.txt tells search engines where to go, the new llms.txt concept helps AI agents understand what your company actually does. AI crawlers like: OpenAI's crawler Anthropic crawlers Perplex