What is SEO, GEO and AEO and how do they differ?
SEO, GEO and AEO are three ways to make a business visible where people look for answers. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) aims for higher positions in the Google results list. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) aims to get the company mentioned in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) shapes content so it is selected as the direct answer to a question – in a featured snippet, a voice assistant or an AI reply.
All three rest on the same foundation: clear, accurate and machine-readable content. What differs is who evaluates that content and how it is shown to the user.
What is SEO (search engine optimisation)?
SEO is the set of activities that helps a website be found and ranked higher in Google and Bing. It covers technical health (indexing, speed, mobile version), content (how well pages match search queries) and authority (links and mentions on other sources).
Result: a list of links where the user chooses what to click.
Measurement: rankings, clicks, inquiries and sales from organic search.
Timeline: technical fixes take weeks, content work 3–6 months.
What is GEO (generative engine optimisation)?
GEO means organising company information and the website so that AI search systems correctly understand what the company does, who it serves and where it operates, and include it in a generated answer. AI models do not produce a list of links – they synthesise an answer from several sources and often cite only 2–5 of them.
What matters: factual density, clear definitions, consistent information across sources, structured data, an llms.txt file and permission for AI crawlers to read the site.
What helps: Google reviews, mentions in directories and media, an accurate company description in every language you serve.
Measurement: whether answers to agreed questions mention the company, whether the facts are correct and which competitors are cited.
What is AEO (answer engine optimisation)?
AEO is shaping content so that a search engine or assistant can lift a short, precise answer and show it without an extra click. It uses question-style headings, a 40–60 word answer right below them, numbered lists, tables and FAQ blocks with FAQPage structured data.
AEO is especially important for voice search and People Also Ask boxes. It is often the first and cheapest step towards GEO, because the same clear answer also suits AI models.
SEO vs GEO vs AEO at a glance
Goal. SEO – a position in the list. GEO – a mention and citation inside the AI answer. AEO – being the answer itself.
Who evaluates. SEO – Google and Bing algorithms. GEO – language models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity). AEO – snippet and assistant systems.
Content form. SEO – keywords and structure. GEO – facts, definitions, sources. AEO – a question and a short answer.
Technical base. For all three – a fast site, structured data, sitemap, hreflang for multiple languages, crawler access.
Where a business should start
First fix the fundamentals that work in all three environments: a clear description of services, contact and company details, structured data (Organization, Service, FAQPage, Article), a sitemap and a robots.txt that allows AI crawlers. Then add an FAQ with real customer questions and short answers to every main service page.
The second step is to check what ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI say about your company today. Ask 10–20 questions your customer would ask and record whether you are mentioned, whether the facts are accurate and who is cited instead of you. That is your GEO baseline for measuring change.
