If you have read about getting found in AI answers, you have met three acronyms: SEO, AEO and GEO. Vendors talk about them as if they were three different jobs. They are closer to three names for overlapping work.
The short answer: say AEO to your buyers, mention GEO so you match what people search for, and keep doing the SEO work you already do.
What does each term name?
| Term | What it names | Where you see it | What you actually do |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO (search engine optimization) | Earning a place in a list of search results | Google and Bing results pages | Make pages crawlable, useful and well linked |
| AEO (answer engine optimization) | Getting named inside the answer a person asks for | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews | Publish clear facts and keep them consistent where AI reads them |
| GEO (generative engine optimization) | The same goal as AEO, under another name | The same AI engines | The same work |
GEO has a traceable origin. A 2023 research paper titled "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization" (Aggarwal and colleagues, accepted to KDD 2024) used the term and tested tactics for getting content cited in generated answers. Its abstract reports that the methods can boost visibility "by up to 40%" in generative engine responses. That is an upper bound, and the paper says the benefit varies by domain. Marketers picked up the term, and many use it as another word for AEO.
Does the label change the work?
Very little. Google's guidance says the best practices for SEO remain relevant for its AI features, and that "there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary."
What changes is the target. Pew Research tracked the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025. When a Google search produced an AI summary, people clicked a regular result link in 8% of visits. When it did not, they clicked in 15% of visits. That study is observational and covers Google only, so it shows a pattern, not a cause. It does show why being named in the answer matters: fewer people click through when the answer is already on the page.
Which term should you use?
- With buyers and your team: AEO. It says what you want, which is to be named in the answer.
- In your content: mention GEO once, where it fits, so people who search that term find you.
- In your plan: keep SEO. Google says SEO fundamentals still apply to its AI features, and some AI tools search the live web, so pages that are easy to crawl help in both places.
What to do this week
- Pick one label for your team and use it consistently.
- Run the five-question test from Five questions to test your brand in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
- Check that the crawlers can reach your site: Can AI crawlers read your site?
Want a score instead of a to-do list? The free AI Visibility Score rates your brand out of 100 across three engines.
Sources
Checked October 18, 2026.