Published July 8, 2026 · reviewed July 17, 2026
GEO vs AEO vs SEO
By Julien Coulaud · Recometrix editorial review
SEO optimizes for search rankings and clicks, AEO optimizes for direct answers, and GEO optimizes for inclusion, recommendation, and citation inside generative AI responses.
The short comparison
| Discipline | Primary goal | Typical surface | Core metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | Rank in search results and earn clicks. | Google, Bing, classic search result pages. | Rankings, impressions, clicks, conversions. |
| AEO | Answer a question clearly enough to be extracted. | Featured snippets, voice answers, answer boxes, assistant summaries. | Answer ownership, snippet capture, answer accuracy. |
| GEO | Get named, recommended, and cited by generative AI systems. | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, copilots. | Mention rate, top-3 rate, citation rate, share of voice. |
Where they overlap
The same page can support all three. A good comparison page can rank in search, answer a direct question, and help an AI assistant explain when to choose one product over another. The difference is the measurement layer.
Where GEO is different
- AI assistants may use third-party pages more than your own site for category recommendations.
- A brand mention can matter even when the page is not linked.
- Repeated sampling matters because AI answers change between runs.
- Provider disagreement is normal. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity often do not choose the same sources.
A practical order of operations
- Make the site crawlable and clear.
- Publish answer-shaped pages for real buyer questions.
- Earn third-party mentions on listicles, communities, podcasts, and newsletters.
- Publish original data people can cite.
- Measure AI answers on a schedule, not once.
FAQ
Should I call it GEO or AEO?
Use the term your buyer uses. Many teams use AEO for answer-engine optimization and GEO for generative-engine visibility; the work overlaps.
Can traditional SEO tools measure GEO?
They can help with crawlability and search demand, but they do not usually measure whether assistants recommend your brand.
What should I track first?
Start with mention rate and competitor share of voice across the questions buyers already ask.
Sources
Primary and official references checked during the latest editorial review.