Quick answer
SEO, AEO and GEO differ in where they aim to appear. Search engine optimization (SEO) aims at being found in search results, answer engine optimization (AEO) at being presented as the one answer to a question, and generative engine optimization (GEO) at being cited in answers that generative AI builds by synthesizing multiple sources. The three are not separate activities, however, but one flow that builds on SEO.
Key takeaways
- SEO aims at discovery in search, AEO at answering questions, GEO at AI citations.
- The three are one connected flow that builds on SEO.
- Google says existing SEO best practices continue to apply to AI Overviews.
- AEO and GEO are sometimes used interchangeably; the names AIO and LLMO also exist.
What is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO in one sentence?
SEO is the work of being found in search, AEO is the work of being presented as the answer to a question, and GEO is the work of making it possible for AI to understand and cite you.
StoneParty&Corp sums this up as 'SEO is discovery in search, AEO is answering questions, and GEO is building an environment that AI can understand, cite and recommend', and explains that the three are not separate activities but connect into a single search and AI visibility funnel.
The terms also come from different sources. SEO is a term that Google and Naver use in their official guides, AEO is an industry term rather than an official standard, and GEO is a term proposed in a paper published on arXiv in November 2023 and accepted at KDD 2024.
| Item | SEO | AEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Search engine optimization | Answer engine optimization | Generative engine optimization |
| Goal | Being found in search results and earning visits | Being presented as the one answer to a question | Being cited or mentioned in AI-generated answers |
| Main targets | Regular search results on Google, Naver and others | Featured snippets, People Also Ask, voice and AI answers | Generative AI answers such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews |
| Typical tasks | Crawl and index management, titles and meta descriptions, internal links, people-first content | Question-style subheadings with direct answers, definition sentences, tables and lists | Verifiable evidence such as sources and statistics, consistent brand information, AI crawler access management |
| Example metrics | Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position | Whether you appear in featured snippets and People Also Ask | Brand mention rate, citation rate |
| Origin of the term | Term used in the official Google and Naver guides | Industry term, not an official standard | Proposed in the GEO paper published in November 2023 |
Do the three have to be done separately?
Usually not: the common order is to get SEO in place first and then add AEO and GEO on top of it. A page that is not indexed is unlikely to be a candidate for an answer or an AI citation.
Google states that there are no additional requirements or special optimizations for appearing in AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that existing SEO best practices continue to apply. To be shown as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet.
In other words, AEO and GEO are not a different kind of technique from SEO; they are closer to refining the same content into a form that answers questions easily and makes the evidence easy to verify.
How do the metrics for checking results differ?
SEO is typically checked with clicks, impressions, CTR and average position in Search Console, while GEO is typically checked by the share of a fixed set of questions in which the brand is mentioned or cited as a source.
AI visibility is measured by deciding on questions customers are likely to ask, putting the same questions to several AI services at regular intervals and recording the results. Because AI answers can differ even for the same question, you look at the time series rather than a single result.
Impressions and clicks for sites shown in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in the 'Web' search type data in the Search Console Performance report. As of writing (2026), there is no report that separates out AI features alone.
Is the boundary between AEO and GEO clear?
No, it is not clear. The industry sometimes uses AEO and GEO interchangeably and also uses names such as AIO and LLMO.
Areas that show a single answer, such as featured snippets, and AI answers that synthesize multiple sources call for content forms that overlap considerably. That is why it matters more to check what work is actually being done than what it is called.
In the experiments of the GEO paper, the most effective methods were adding citations to sources, adding quotations and adding statistics. As writing that makes its evidence clear, this work applies to both AEO and GEO. However, because these were experiments in a research setting, the same results cannot be expected in real services.
Frequently asked questions
Does adding lots of keywords work for AEO and GEO too?
It is hard to say that it does. Keyword stuffing, which means filling a page with keywords unnaturally, is prohibited by Google's spam policies. Keyword stuffing also did not perform well in the experiments of the GEO paper.
Can results be guaranteed for any of the three?
No. Google does not guarantee crawling, indexing or serving even when all requirements are met, and AI answers can differ each time even for the same question and are affected by platform policies and model changes. No one can guarantee search rankings or AI citations.
Do I have to add new files or markup for GEO?
For the AI features in Google Search, no. Google states that you do not need to create new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup, and that there is no special schema.org structured data you need to add.
Key entities in this article
- Search engine optimization (SEO) ( Concept or service )
- The work of helping search engines understand content and helping people find a site through search. Official source: Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Answer engine optimization (AEO) ( Concept or service )
- Structuring content and information so search engines and AI can present it as the single answer to a question.
- Generative engine optimization (GEO) ( Concept or service )
- The work of making content and brands more visible and more often cited in answers that generative AI builds from multiple sources. Official source: Generative engine optimization (GEO)
- StoneParty&Corp ( Organization )
- An AI data-driven marketing agency in Seoul that designs SEO, AEO and GEO as one structure. It is the brand agency division of DEKAM Inc. and the operator of this site. Official source: StoneParty&Corp
- Google ( Organization )
- The company behind Google Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode, which publishes official SEO guidance through Search Central. Official source: Google
- Naver ( Organization )
- Korea's largest search portal, which operates the Yeti crawler and the AI Briefing search feature. Official source: Naver
- GEO paper (KDD 2024) ( Paper )
- The paper 'GEO: Generative Engine Optimization' by Aggarwal et al., which proposed the term and tested methods on a 10,000-query benchmark. Official source: GEO paper (KDD 2024)
- AI Overviews ( Concept or service )
- The Google Search feature in which AI summarizes multiple sources and shows them with links. Official source: AI Overviews
- AI Mode ( Concept or service )
- The conversational AI search experience in Google Search for follow-up questions and complex comparisons. Official source: AI Mode
- Google Search Console ( Concept or service )
- Google's free tool for checking clicks, impressions and index status in Google Search. Official source: Google Search Console
- schema.org ( Concept or service )
- The project that defines the shared vocabulary used for structured data. Official source: schema.org
- Structured data ( Concept or service )
- Data that classifies page content in a standard format for search engines, mostly using the schema.org vocabulary. Official source: Structured data