Consumers and businesses increasingly rely on voice assistants, AI chatbots, and autonomous AI agents to find information and complete transactions, even in complex fields like banking. As a result, traditional search engine optimization (SEO) is no longer sufficient, giving rise to new practices such as answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) alongside SEO. Simultaneously, agentic commerce—where AI agents shop, recommend, and transact on behalf of users—is set to transform how customers discover and purchase financial products. These shifts necessitate rethinking banks’ customer engagement models for both consumers and corporate clients. Banks that evolve their digital marketing and customer experience to meet this new search frontier will be best positioned for growth. SEO focuses on boosting visibility in organic search through keyword strategies, meta tags, backlinks, technical site health, and relevant content. It has been central for banks targeting searches like “best savings account rates. ” AEO shifts focus to making content deliver direct answers, prioritizing concise, conversational responses that answer natural-language queries—like “What are today’s 30-year mortgage rates for first-time buyers?”—over generic pages. GEO, often used interchangeably with AEO, involves structuring content for AI-driven generative search that provides synthesized answers from multiple sources rather than lists of links, aiming to be included in AI-generated summaries and recommendations. The goal of AEO and GEO is to become the trusted source cited by AI platforms. For instance, when a user asks, “What’s the best checking account in Dallas?”, the bank wants its account details included in the AI’s answer. While traditional SEO remains important, its impact is shifting. Zero-click searches mean users may get answers without visiting websites, with AI answers potentially omitting uncited sources.

Being featured by AI can confer authority and drive traffic; being absent could mean lost potential customers who never discover a bank’s offerings despite strong traditional SEO presence. Optimizing for answer and generative engines involves several key strategies: - AI-Recommended Products: For queries like “Find me a good travel credit card with no annual fees and great rewards, ” banks must ensure their offerings’ unique selling points are clearly stated online and build SEO/AEO-optimized content targeting comparison queries. Tools like reward calculators can also aid AI agents in referencing relevant data. - Autonomous Switching: As personal finance management apps become agentic—offering to switch funds automatically to better options—banks need to rethink retention strategies, employing loyalty programs and multi-product discounts to maintain customer relationships. - Voice or Chat-Based Account Opening: Enabling account opening through voice or chat, at least partially, enhances user experience. While regulations may require human follow-up, initiating processes via conversational AI differentiates the bank and offers seamless omnichannel service. In B2B banking, although human relationships remain crucial, AI-driven search and agentic processes increasingly influence discovery and automation. Business clients often seek insights on topics like cash flow management or treasury best practices. Producing authoritative thought leadership positions banks as credible sources that AI assistants might cite, enhancing visibility. The human touch remains essential; AI will handle routine analysis while relationship managers focus on complex needs and trust-building. Banks should present themselves as both high-tech and high-touch—leveraging AI for efficient, data-driven service while ensuring advisors remain available for personalized support. The marketing paradigm broadens from “search engine optimization” to “search everywhere optimization, ” recognizing that customers include AI agents acting on users’ behalf. Banks must thus balance discoverability for both humans and AI intermediaries. Practically, banks should: - Strengthen digital content and SEO fundamentals. - Embrace new digital channels and interfaces. - Adapt products and processes for agentic commerce. - Preserve the human touch and maintain trust. This shift to SEO, AEO, GEO, and agentic commerce presents both a challenge and opportunity. It allows incumbent banks to modernize and attract early adopters, but failure to adapt risks reduced visibility, loss of customer engagement, and being eclipsed by tech-savvy competitors or tech firms moving into financial services.