What is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?

SEO works to rank in search results, AEO to become the direct answer to a question, and GEO to be named and cited in the answers of AI engines. The surface and the metric change: ranking for SEO, the answer shown for AEO, mentions and citations for GEO.

Are AEO and GEO the same?

They overlap a lot and are often used as synonyms. The origin differs: AEO comes from featured snippets and voice assistants, where there is one answer, while GEO comes from generative engines, where the answer is new text that can name several brands and cite several sources.

What do SEO, AEO and GEO stand for?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, AEO for Answer Engine Optimization and GEO for Generative Engine Optimization, the optimization for generative engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

What is LLMO and how is it different from GEO?

LLMO stands for Large Language Model Optimization. The goal is the same as GEO: getting named and cited in the answers of language models. Only the point of view changes, the model instead of the engine, while the work and the metrics are the same.

What is SEO for AI called?

The most common name is GEO, Generative Engine Optimization. You will also find AEO, LLMO, AI SEO and AI search optimization: they all describe the work of showing up in the answers of AI engines, with different shades.

Does GEO replace SEO?

No. Most AI engines look for sources in a search index, so a page that does not rank has fewer chances to be cited. GEO adds what SEO does not measure: whether the brand is named in the answer, and next to which competitors.

Do you need SEO, AEO and GEO together?

Yes, if your customers search both on Google and with AI assistants. Most of the work is shared: clear pages, direct answers, consistent facts about the brand. What changes is what you measure and how often you check it.

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Guide · SEO, AEO and GEO

SEO vs AEO vs GEO: what is the difference

SEO gets a page into a search engine's results, AEO makes it the direct answer to a question, and GEO gets a brand named and cited in the answers that AI engines write. They are not alternatives: SEO is the base, and the other two build on it and measure different things.

TL;DR

SEO, AEO and GEO are three layers of the same work. SEO ranks the page, AEO makes it extractable as an answer, and GEO checks and improves how often the brand appears in the answers of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and AI Overviews. LLMO is another name for GEO, coined from the model's side instead of the engine's.

The definitions in one line

Each acronym names a different surface: where the result shows up and what counts as a win.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization

The work of making a site rank higher in the organic results of a search engine such as Google or Bing.

AEO: Answer Engine Optimization

The work of getting a piece of content used as the direct answer: featured snippets, voice assistants, answer boxes.

GEO: Generative Engine Optimization

The work of getting generative AI engines to name a brand, recommend it and cite its pages in their answers.

LLMO: Large Language Model Optimization

The same goal as GEO, described from the language model's side instead of the engine's.

AIO

An ambiguous acronym: some use it for AI Optimization, a synonym of GEO, while many others use it as short for AI Overviews, Google's AI answer.

SEO vs AEO vs GEO compared

The same customer question, seen by the three disciplines.

SEO vs AEO vs GEO compared
Aspect	SEO	AEO	GEO
Where the result shows up	In the organic links of the results page	In the featured snippet, the answer box, the assistant's voice reply	Inside the answer of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, AI Overviews and AI Mode
What counts as success	Ranking, clicks, organic traffic	Being the answer shown, with a link to the source	Being named, recommended and cited as a source
Unit of work	The page and the keyword	The question and the paragraph that answers it	The brand, across every question in its category
Main levers	Content, links, technical SEO, speed	Answer up top, question-led structure, structured data	Clear entity, third-party mentions, quotable content, AI bot access
How it is measured	Search Console, rank trackers, analytics	Presence in snippets and voice answers	Repeated questions to AI engines: brand recall, share of voice, sentiment, cited sources
How stable it is	Fairly: the same search mostly returns the same list	Fairly: the snippet rarely changes	Not very: the same question returns different answers, so it is measured on repeated samples

How they fit together

The three work in sequence: each one uses what the previous one produces.

SEO comes first

AI Overviews, Copilot and ChatGPT search pick their sources from a search index. A page that is not indexed, or that bots cannot read, can become neither an answer nor a source.

AEO makes the page quotable

A two-sentence answer at the top, the question as the heading, structured data that matches the text: the format an engine can lift without rewriting it.

GEO looks at the brand

A model names what it finds described consistently in many places: the site, reviews, trade press, forums. GEO works off the site too, and measures the result question by question.

Where to start

It depends on what is missing today.

The site does not show up on Google

Start with SEO: indexing, pages for the right searches, links from trusted sites. Without that base the other two have nothing to work with.

The site ranks but is never quoted

Work on AEO: rewrite the key pages with the answer up top and an FAQ section that uses your customers' real words.

You do not know whether AI names you

Measure GEO: ask several AI engines your customers' questions, several times, and count how many answers name you and how many name competitors.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?: SEO works to rank in search results, AEO to become the direct answer to a question, and GEO to be named and cited in the answers of AI engines. The surface and the metric change: ranking for SEO, the answer shown for AEO, mentions and citations for GEO.
Are AEO and GEO the same?: They overlap a lot and are often used as synonyms. The origin differs: AEO comes from featured snippets and voice assistants, where there is one answer, while GEO comes from generative engines, where the answer is new text that can name several brands and cite several sources.
What do SEO, AEO and GEO stand for?: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, AEO for Answer Engine Optimization and GEO for Generative Engine Optimization, the optimization for generative engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.
What is LLMO and how is it different from GEO?: LLMO stands for Large Language Model Optimization. The goal is the same as GEO: getting named and cited in the answers of language models. Only the point of view changes, the model instead of the engine, while the work and the metrics are the same.
What is SEO for AI called?: The most common name is GEO, Generative Engine Optimization. You will also find AEO, LLMO, AI SEO and AI search optimization: they all describe the work of showing up in the answers of AI engines, with different shades.
Does GEO replace SEO?: No. Most AI engines look for sources in a search index, so a page that does not rank has fewer chances to be cited. GEO adds what SEO does not measure: whether the brand is named in the answer, and next to which competitors.
Do you need SEO, AEO and GEO together?: Yes, if your customers search both on Google and with AI assistants. Most of the work is shared: clear pages, direct answers, consistent facts about the brand. What changes is what you measure and how often you check it.