In a recent conversation with John Wilson on the Owned and Operated podcast, Jamie Smith, Vice President of Brand Marketing and Homeowner Experience at Modernize, explained how a consumer-obsessed mindset, now shaped heavily by Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), is a new media channel in the home services industry from the first inquiry to the final install. Her message was direct: in today’s market, the consumer always wins, and the companies that build around that truth will lead.
Homeowners are no longer satisfied with simply “finding a contractor.” They’re looking for the right experience, one defined by transparency, speed, and trust. As Jamie put it, Modernize thinks about the consumer “constantly,” because consumer expectations are now what shape the entire buying journey.
Experience + Visibility: The New Homeowner Playbook
Today’s homeowners are more intentional and informed. They ask deeper questions, compare more options, and look for reassurance before committing. That shift connects experience with visibility. You can’t only show up in search, you have to show up as the business worth choosing.
This is exactly where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) comes into play. Jamie described AEO as the natural evolution of SEO:
“Today it’s called AEO… it is a new way to optimize for SEO because consumers are going to continue to search for you. What’s changing is the device, the mechanism, that the search query is.”
Even homeowners who don’t think of themselves as “using AI” are using Google. And Google’s rollout of AI Mode means search results are increasingly being shaped by large language model (LLM)-generated answers, not just blue links.
That’s why AEO matters now. It extends SEO into an AI-first world.
AEO Through Google’s Eyes
To put this change into perspective, consider insights from Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, on Lenny’s Podcast. Stein explained that when users search in AI Mode, Google:
- Performs dozens of background searches (“query fan-out”)
- Pulls from real-time business, product, and local data
- Uses long-standing trust and quality signals to determine which companies to highlight
In simple terms: LLMs aren’t guessing. They’re researching and choosing who they trust.
That means the businesses who present clear, credible, consumer-focused answers are the ones AI is most likely to surface.
Jamie’s Guidance for Contractors Adapting to AEO
As Modernize has been diving into AEO, here are three practical, grounded tips we’ve learned that can help contractors start adapting right now:
- Treat AEO as its own strategy.
Don’tfold it in as just another SEO task. Think about how consumers naturally ask questions, and how AI systems interpret and answer those questions. - Build FAQs that sound like real homeowners.
Jamie’s team writes content exactly the way consumers speak. For example, a real query is not “plumbing installation provider,” but “who is the best local plumber near me?”When Modernize applied this consumer-first FAQ approach, they saw three times higher conversion and four times the return for a customer, simply by answering the questions homeowners were already asking. - Move quickly:early adopters will win.
AEO is indexing now. As Jamie put it, “Do it now… because your competitor is going to do it and you want to be there first.”
Even though no one has mastered AEO yet, the contractors who start today will be miles ahead as AI-driven search becomes the norm.
How Modernize Helps Contractors Win in an AEO World
Modernize has expanded far beyond lead generation to support contractors across the entire homeowner journey from inquiry to install, and it reflects how Modernize helps businesses both show up in search and deliver the experience consumers expect.
Modernize now supports contractors with:
- High-intent leads and calls that spark demand
- Marketing Product, including SEO, AEO-informed content, reputation strategy, programmatic campaigns, email marketing, and conversion optimization
- 360 Finance, a full end-to-end financing experience that helps homeowners say yes and contractors close more jobs
Underlying all of this is Modernize’s data feedback loop. Because Modernize sees how tens of thousands of homeowners behave across trades and markets daily, and they can benchmark performance and provide insight-driven recommendations to improve contractors’ funnels.
Jamie summed it up simply:
“We think about the consumer constantly… one of our jobs is making sure consumers are finding our customers.”
Modernize isn’t just helping contractors get found. They’re helping them get chosen.
🎥 Watch the full conversation with Jamie Smith on the Owned and Operated podcast
