What do GEO and AEO mean?
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) and answer engine optimisation (AEO) are names for work aimed at being shown, cited or named in AI-generated answers. Google's own guide describes both terms as covering work specifically focused on improving visibility in AI search experiences. It then states its position: from Google Search's perspective, optimising for generative AI search is optimising for the search experience, and so it is still SEO. Google also suggests that anyone considering third-party AEO or GEO services first read its guidance on evaluating SEO advice.
Providers use the terms loosely. Before comparing proposals, ask each one to list the specific tasks behind the label, so you can see how much of the work is standard SEO and how much is specific to other assistants.
Where is the work the same as SEO?
For Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, the overlap is close to complete. Google says these features are rooted in its core Search ranking and quality systems and use retrieval-augmented generation, where ranking systems retrieve pages from the Search index before a response is written. A page has to be indexed and eligible for a snippet, the same requirement as a normal result. Google's recommendations are the familiar ones: crawlable pages, internal links, good page experience, important content in text, structured data that matches visible text, and current Business Profile and Merchant Center details.
Where does the work differ?
The differences sit mostly outside Google. Other assistants run their own crawlers with their own robots.txt tokens, and each operator separates search crawling from model training in its own way. OpenAI says ChatGPT search uses third-party search providers and partner content, so being indexed beyond Google matters. The output differs too: an assistant usually composes one answer naming a few businesses, so there is nothing equivalent to position eight on a results page. Measurement changes most, because there is no rank tracker for these answers.
- Crawler access: allow OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot as well as Googlebot and Bingbot.
- Training decisions: GPTBot and similar tokens are separate choices from search access.
- Indexing: check Bing Webmaster Tools as well as Google Search Console.
- Measurement: repeated prompts with saved answers, plus AI-specific reports where they exist.
What does GEO not change?
Google's guide lists tactics it says are unnecessary for its generative AI features. You do not need llms.txt or other AI text files for Google Search, you do not need to break content into small chunks, and you do not need to rewrite pages in a special style for AI systems, which already match synonyms and meaning. Creating separate pages for every phrasing or fan-out query mainly to manipulate AI responses breaches Google's scaled content abuse policy. Seeking inauthentic mentions across the web, Google says, is less helpful than it might seem.
How is success measured differently?
SEO reporting rests on rankings, impressions and clicks for known queries. For AI answers, the equivalents are newer and narrower. Google now offers a Generative AI performance report in Search Console that counts how your pages appear in its AI features. Most other measurement comes from repeated prompt checks: a fixed set of buyer questions, run on a schedule, with the full answers and cited links saved. Answers vary between runs, so a single check is a sample, and the useful result is the pattern across many runs over time. No honest provider can give you a position number for an AI answer.
How should a small business order the effort?
Work in order, because each step depends on the one before it. If Google cannot index your service pages, no AI-specific work will get them cited in AI Overviews. Fix the SEO basics first, then open access for other assistants' search crawlers, then make sure the facts buyers ask about are stated on your pages and match your listings elsewhere. Measurement should start before the first change so you have a baseline to compare against.
- First: indexing, crawl access, page speed and clear service pages.
- Second: robots.txt and CDN settings for OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and other search crawlers.
- Third: specific facts on each page, consistent with your Business Profile and directories.
- Throughout: a saved baseline of buyer questions and answers, rerun on a schedule.