SEO vs AEO vs GEO: What’s the Difference?
SEO, AEO and GEO describe overlapping ways to be found in search and AI answers. Here's what each term means, where they differ, and how to prioritise.
Key takeaways
- SEO: ranking in search engine results.
- AEO: being the direct answer in answer features and AI assistants.
- GEO: being used, cited or recommended in generative AI responses.
- They overlap heavily; one strategy built on strong SEO covers most of all three.
New acronyms appear every time search changes. Here’s a plain-English comparison.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Search Engine Optimization | Answer Engine Optimization | Generative Engine Optimization |
| Goal | Rank pages in search results | Be the direct answer | Be cited or recommended in AI-generated responses |
| Where | Google, Bing results | Featured snippets, voice assistants, AI answers | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode |
| Success metric | Rankings, clicks, conversions | Answer placements, citations | Citations, brand mentions, AI referrals |
| Key tactics | Technical health, content, links | Direct answers, structured content | Citable facts, entity strength, brand mentions |
Terms aren’t used consistently. Many people use AEO and GEO interchangeably, and you’ll also see “LLM SEO” and “AI SEO.”
Where they overlap
All three need:
- Content that can be crawled and indexed
- Helpful, accurate, expert content
- Clear structure with headings and direct answers
- Trust signals: authorship, reputation, links and mentions
Most AI search tools retrieve content from web search indexes. If you don’t rank or aren’t indexed, you’re unlikely to be cited.
Where they differ
- SEO values ranking a whole page; AI systems often use individual passages
- GEO relies more on what the wider web says about your brand, not just your own site
- AI answers can mention your brand without linking, so visibility doesn’t always appear as traffic
- Measurement is less mature: there’s no “Search Console for ChatGPT” (yet)
How to prioritise
- Get SEO fundamentals right: they power everything else (SEO audit)
- Restructure key content answer-first (AEO explained)
- Build brand presence across reviews, press and communities
- Measure AI referrals and spot-check AI answers monthly
Is traditional SEO still relevant?
Yes. See is traditional SEO still relevant in the age of AI search?