Answers · SEO
What's the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?
SEO ranks your pages in Google, AEO gets your content used as a direct answer, and GEO gets AI tools like ChatGPT to cite your business.
Updated
The short answer
SEO (search engine optimization) helps your pages rank in regular search results. AEO (answer engine optimization) shapes content so search engines and voice assistants can lift it as a direct answer. GEO (generative engine optimization) makes your business easy for AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to find, trust and cite.
How they compare
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank pages | Be the direct answer | Be cited by AI |
| Where it shows | Google and Bing results | Snippets, voice, FAQs | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews |
| What matters most | Relevance, links, speed | Clear question-and-answer content | Consistent facts, mentions, crawlability |
Do I need all three?
They share the same foundation, so one good plan covers all three. See AI search optimization and the complete SEO guide.