Is AEO the same as GEO?

In practice, yes. Both describe the techniques for getting cited by AI answer engines; the name depends on the market and the agency.

How do I measure AEO results?

Track a fixed set of buyer prompts in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode every month, and use Search Console's generative AI report and Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report for impressions in AI answers.

SEO and AEO

AEO vs GEO vs SEO: what's the difference and which one you need

By Javier Fernández. Published October 3, 2026

SEO optimizes your site to rank in Google's and Bing's results. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) optimize it to be cited inside AI answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. AEO and GEO are near-synonyms; both build on SEO rather than replace it.

SEO, AEO and GEO in one sentence each

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) gets your pages ranked in search results, measured in positions, clicks and leads. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) gets your brand cited when an AI assistant answers a question. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the same goal under the name coined by a 2023 Princeton paper; US agencies mostly say AEO, Spanish-speaking markets say GEO.

GEO vs SEO: what actually changes

The unit changes from a ranked link to a cited passage. AI engines run a search, read a few pages and write an answer, so what matters is whether your page answers the question in its first lines, uses clear headings and tables, and cites numbers with sources. In a March 2026 study of 4 million URLs, Ahrefs found only 38% of pages cited in AI Overviews rank in the organic top 10.

Authority signals shift too. Ahrefs' study of 75,000 brands found branded web mentions correlate with AI Overview visibility at 0.66, against 0.22 for backlinks. Being talked about on LinkedIn, Reddit, directories and industry sites matters more for AI citations than for classic rankings.

AEO vs SEO: does one replace the other?

No. Google's AI features draw from Google's index and ChatGPT search reads the live web: a page that isn't crawled and indexed can't be cited. SEO gets you into the pool of candidate sources; AEO raises the odds you're the one quoted. In practice, the same team should do both, because they touch the same pages.

Where a small business should start

Fix technical SEO and give every service its own strong page. Then add the AEO layer on top: a direct 40-60 word answer under each heading, visible FAQs, structured data for your business and services, a consistent company profile across directories, and AI crawlers allowed in robots.txt. Measure both: Search Console for clicks, and a monthly check of what AI assistants say about you.