It is a 4R70W. Same case, they didn't change the casting. Want to see any source that says they didn't start until '98/99.
The transmission case itself didn't change, the gears inside did. That is where you will find people getting the 4R70W gears and stuffing them into the AOD, to get one (but not nearly enough) of the upgrades the 4R70W has to offer.
The AODE started in the early 90s as an updated AOD. By '94 I think everything had transitioned to the AODE, goodbye AOD. Then the wide ratio gear set came. For a year or two, on a couple of models, you got the AODE-W. That is an AOD, Electronicly controlled, Wide ratio gear set. Then the naming convention came to town and everything started getting a more engineering name. 4(speed)R(rear wheel drive)70(torque rating, in Newton Meter, at the input shaft, after the torque convertor, X10(or something like that)) W(wide ratio). GM shares almost the same naming, the 700R4 turned into the 4L60, added electronic controls and was the 4L60E. 6R80, 10R80, you can tell what they are by the names. Why Ford and GM did this I have no idea, but I like it.
So if you think the transmission didn't come until '98 or '99, lets see it. I can find some factory service manuals that show it a few years sooner.