Glossary
GEO vs SEO: what's the difference?
SEO (search engine optimization) aims to rank pages in search engine results; GEO (generative engine optimization) aims to get a brand mentioned, cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers. GEO builds on SEO, since AI answers often retrieve top-ranking pages, but adds answer-first writing, sourcing, consistent facts and third-party mentions.
Side by side
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank pages | Be cited, mentioned, recommended |
| Unit | Page | Passage and brand |
| Key signals | Relevance, links, quality, technical health | Plus clarity, specificity, sources, consistency, mentions |
| Measurement | Rankings, clicks, impressions | Mention, citation and recommendation rates across prompts |
| Surfaces | Google, Bing results | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews |
What carries over
Crawlability, indexing, good content, links and authority all still matter: retrieval in AI search usually starts from a search index.
What's new
- Writing passages that can be quoted alone.
- Adding statistics and citations (shown to raise visibility in the original GEO research).
- Being mentioned on the third-party pages AI engines read for your category: directories, reviews, comparisons.
- Tracking AI visibility with prompt sets.
Example
A page ranks #3 for "best startup directories" but AI answers never cite it. Adding a summary table with numbers, sources and a dated method gets it cited by two engines within weeks, without a ranking change.
FAQ
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. It builds on it.
Should I hire for GEO separately?
Most GEO work is good SEO and PR; add prompt tracking.
Is GEO the same as AEO?
Close; AEO focuses on being the direct answer, GEO on generative AI answers broadly.
Sources
- Aggarwal et al.: GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv)
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website