Hello Chris

Algorithmic do use AO but as an input to their smart material generator and is baked into the materials when exported.

For a new project I load the obj and then select the bake function which will generate the AO map for me. The smart materials will automatically pick up the map.

BTW - Christophe Desse's channel on Youtube is worth a visit if you're interested in seeing practical demos of using Substance Painter/Designer.