The verdict in three sentences
For a licensed fintech or digital asset firm in London, SEO still captures buyers who search for a specific product or provider, while AEO/GEO shapes how AI assistants like ChatGPT describe your firm when a treasurer or compliance lead asks for a shortlist. Both sit inside the FCA financial promotions regime, which applies to cryptoasset promotions to UK consumers since 8 October 2023, so every page and every third-party mention must be accurate, balanced and consistent with your permissions. Most firms should fund SEO foundations first and add AI visibility once their public facts are clean, but the order changes with licence stage and audience.
SEO and AEO/GEO side by side for a London fintech
Institutional and corporate buyers in this niche verify before they engage: FCA register entry, custody model, security certifications, audits, team, jurisdiction. They do it partly on Google and increasingly in conversation with AI assistants. The two channels reward overlapping work but produce different outputs.
| Criterion | SEO | AEO/GEO |
|---|---|---|
| What it targets | Rankings for queries such as institutional crypto custody UK or FCA registered stablecoin payments provider | Mentions and accurate descriptions in answers from AI assistants like ChatGPT |
| Typical buyer moment | Active search for a provider or a product | Early shortlist, comparison, due diligence questions |
| Time to first effect | Often 4 to 9 months for competitive London queries | Weeks for corrections to your own pages, 3 to 6 months for third-party sources |
| 2026 market budget ballpark | GBP 2,000 to 8,000 per month (typical London agency quotes) | GBP 1,500 to 6,000 per month, plus GBP 1,500 to 5,000 for a diagnostic |
| Main metrics | Impressions, clicks and positions in Search Console, qualified leads | Share of recorded answers mentioning the firm, accuracy of what is said, cited sources |
| Main risk | Content that reads as a financial promotion without the right approval | Outdated or inflated facts repeated by assistants, beyond your direct control |
The typical market figures above come from public agency rate pages and typical quotes in London. The AI visibility market is young, so the spread between providers is wide.
Where should the budget go first? A decision table
The right split depends less on the channel than on where the firm stands. These are the situations we meet most often.
| Situation | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Newly authorised or registered firm, low brand awareness | SEO foundations and clean public facts | Assistants cannot describe a firm that has few reliable public sources |
| Established brand, strong direct traffic | AEO/GEO audit, then targeted SEO | Buyers already ask about you by name; accuracy of answers matters most |
| Heavy regulated content (yields, staking, lending products) | Compliance workflow before scaling either | Every new page may be a financial promotion needing approval |
| B2B infrastructure (custody, APIs, payments rails) | SEO on technical and comparison queries, AEO on due diligence questions | Buyers are specialists who search precisely and ask detailed questions |
| Limited budget, under GBP 3,000 per month | One channel, measured properly | Splitting a small budget usually means neither channel moves |
| Expansion from the EU or US into the UK | Both, with UK specific pages | UK permissions and risk warnings differ from MiCA or US licences |
Whatever the order, the content rules are the same. Licence and registration references are shown exactly as held, risk warnings sit where the regime requires them, and no page promises returns. Marketing emails and cookies fall under PECR, personal data under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 with the ICO as regulator, and accessibility expectations under the Equality Act 2010 point towards a WCAG 2.2 AA target. Promotions approval and permissions should be confirmed with your compliance team or counsel. This is not legal advice.
How each channel is measured
SEO is measured with Search Console and analytics: impressions and clicks on the queries that matter commercially, positions over time, and above all qualified enquiries attributed to organic search. A sensible review cycle is monthly, with a judgement on direction after six months. No serious provider promises a ranking.
AEO/GEO is measured with a dated record. A fixed list of 20 to 40 questions that buyers actually ask (which FCA registered firms offer institutional custody in London, how does firm X segregate client assets, is firm Y authorised in the UK) is put to AI assistants like ChatGPT at regular intervals, and each answer is stored with its date. The indicators are the share of answers that mention you, the accuracy of what is said about your permissions and products, and the sources the answer appears to rely on. Answers vary from day to day, so trends across months matter more than any single snapshot, and nobody can promise that an assistant will recommend a firm.
A diagnostic, in broad terms, combines both views: what you rank for today and what is missing, what assistants currently say about you and where it is wrong, which public facts are inconsistent across your site, registers, directories and press, and which pages carry promotion risk. It ends with a recommended split of budget and a measurement plan. Kolonell scopes this on quote.
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Mini case study
Illustrative example: Thameside Digital Custody (fictional), an FCA registered custody provider serving funds and corporates, has a marketing budget of GBP 60,000 for the year. A baseline record shows the firm mentioned in 4 of 30 recorded answers, two of them describing an outdated product. Its Search Console shows strong branded traffic but little on comparison queries. The board allocates 60% to SEO, GBP 36,000 or GBP 3,000 a month, and 40% to AI visibility, GBP 24,000 including a GBP 4,000 diagnostic, leaving GBP 20,000 over the remaining months, about GBP 1,800 a month across 11 months. Results are reviewed quarterly against both records.
FAQ
Should a London fintech choose SEO or AEO/GEO first?
Most firms start with SEO foundations and clean public facts, because assistants rely on the same reliable sources. An established brand with strong name searches may start with an AI visibility audit, often GBP 1,500 to 5,000.
Do financial promotion rules apply to blog content and AI-facing pages?
Content that invites or induces someone to engage in investment activity can be a financial promotion, whatever the format. Have your compliance team define which pages need approval before publication.
How long until SEO shows results for crypto or fintech queries in London?
On competitive queries, 4 to 9 months is a common horizon, sometimes longer for new domains. Branded and very specific technical queries often move faster.
How do we know if AI assistants describe us correctly?
Record the same 20 to 40 questions at regular intervals and store each answer with its date. Track the share of answers mentioning you and the accuracy of what they say about your licence status and products.
What does a combined programme cost in London in 2026?
As a ballpark, GBP 3,500 to 14,000 a month for both channels together, depending on content volume and compliance load. Kolonell scopes it on quote after a diagnostic.
Find out how AI assistants describe your firm. We record what AI assistants like ChatGPT say about your licence, custody model and products, and compare it with your Google visibility to recommend where the next pound should go. Request a diagnostic quote: reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
