AI search
AI SEO, GEO and AEO: what they mean, and what actually works
If you have heard all three names and wondered which one you need, the answer is simpler than it sounds. Here is what each one means, how AI answers choose their sources, and what actually gets a company named.
AI SEO, GEO and AEO are three names for the same goal: being one of the pages that ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers use, and name, when someone asks a question. GEO stands for generative engine optimization. AEO stands for answer engine optimization. AI SEO is the plain name for both.
The work behind all three is mostly the same work as good SEO content. Google says so itself (section 03).
GEO vs AEO vs SEO: what is the difference?
The names differ in where your answer shows up. The work behind them overlaps almost completely.
| Name | What it means | Where you show up | How you know it worked |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO (search engine optimization) | Making your pages easy for Google to find, understand and rank | In Google's list of results | Your position and clicks in Google's Search Console |
| AEO (answer engine optimization) | Making your pages the direct answer to a question | In answer boxes, voice answers and AI answers | Whether your page is the one quoted as the answer |
| GEO (generative engine optimization) | Making your pages a source that AI tools use when they write an answer | In ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews | Whether the AI names or links to you |
| AI SEO | The everyday name for AEO and GEO together | Anywhere an AI writes the answer | Whether AI answers name you, checked over time |
People use these names loosely, and they overlap. None of them is a separate kind of website.
How AI answers choose their sources
AI answers are built from pages that already exist. The AI searches, reads what it finds, and often shows the pages it used.
"There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary."
Google also says "all existing SEO fundamentals continue to be worthwhile", and that its AI answers may run several related searches behind one answer, which it calls "query fan-out".
"ChatGPT will choose to search the web based on what you ask."
When it searches, the answer includes links to its sources. When it does not search, it answers from what it learned in training, without links to sources.
Ranking on Google and being named by ChatGPT are not the same thing. Across 33 keywords we recorded 276 pages that rank on Google and 73 pages ChatGPT cited. Only 9 appeared in both, and 12.3% of citations came from Google's top ten.
Limit: 33 keywords, three related industries, mostly ChatGPT, one moment in time (29 July 2026). It shows what happened, not how to cause a citation.
What actually works
Pages that answer the question directly, say where their facts come from, and come from a site that keeps writing about its topic.
Answer the question in the first sentence. Put the context after it, so the answer can be quoted on its own.
Say where your facts come from. Name the source, and link to it.
Use real figures, dates and names, stated plainly.
Keep writing about your topic. One article is one chance; many articles on one topic, over months, build a site that knows its subject.
Keep pages current. When the answers change, update the page.
Get the basics right: Google can crawl your pages, and the important content is text, not only images.
No tricks. There is no hidden setting, special file or wording that makes an AI name you.
No page that says nothing new. Five articles repeating the same press release are not five sources.
No promises. Anyone who guarantees that ChatGPT will name you is guessing.
Is SEO dead now that there is AI?
No. AI answers are built from pages that already exist, and Google says the same SEO fundamentals still apply to its AI answers. What changed is where people see the answer, and so where you need to check: in Google's results, and in the AI answers.
How to check whether AI answers name you
Ask the AI the questions your buyers ask, write down who it names, and repeat it. One check is one moment.
We ask the assistants.
Each month we put your buyers' questions to ChatGPT, Gemini and others, and record which brands they name and whether you are one of them.
We read your Google numbers.
With read access to your Search Console, Google's own report of how your site performs, we read your real positions, how often your pages were shown, and clicks.
We watch for movement.
When the search results for one of your topics move, we see it and know which part of the article to update.
AI SEO services: what we do, and what we do not
We do the content half of AI SEO, every week: we research what your buyers ask, write and illustrate the articles, and check every month whether Google and AI answers show you.
What we do
We answer the questions your buyers ask. Each article is researched against what currently ranks for the topic, written in your company's voice, and sourced.
We put each answer where an assistant can quote it on its own.
We keep the pages current when the results move.
What we do not do
We do not change your website's code or settings. The technical side is real work, and it is not ours.
By choice, we do not sell link building (getting other websites to link to yours).
Nobody can guarantee that an AI will name you.
One plan: US$1,299 a month, plus VAT where it applies. See the plan and the comparison
A free look at how visible your company is today, in Google and in AI search.
Questions about AI SEO
What is AI SEO called now?
It goes by several names: GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization), LLM optimization, or simply AI SEO. They all mean being a source that AI answers use and name.
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO is about being the direct answer to a question, in answer boxes, voice answers and AI answers. GEO is about being a source an AI uses when it writes a longer answer. In practice the work overlaps almost completely.
Is SEO still worth it with AI?
Yes. AI answers are built from pages that already exist, and Google says the same SEO fundamentals still apply to its AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Can ChatGPT do SEO?
It can help: it can draft, summarise and suggest ideas. It cannot be relied on to check its own facts, it does not know your business, and it cannot see how your pages perform in your Search Console. That is why every article we write is checked by people and tools, and approved by you.
How do I show up on ChatGPT?
There is no setting to switch on. ChatGPT names sources when it searches the web, and it picks pages that answer the question clearly. Write those pages, keep them current, and check whether your name comes back.
Can you guarantee that ChatGPT will name us?
No. We do not guarantee rankings, traffic, or being named by AI answers, and nobody honestly can. We check every month and tell you what we find, including when nothing has moved.
What we will not promise
We do not guarantee rankings, traffic, or being cited by AI assistants. Nobody honestly can.