GEO and AEO
GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) are two names for getting your brand named in AI answers.
GEO stands for generative engine optimization. AEO stands for answer engine optimization. Both are names for the same work: getting your brand named, and described correctly, when AI platforms answer your customers' questions.
You'll also hear AI SEO and LLMO (large language model optimization). They all point at the same goal, so don't spend long choosing between them.
Where the names come from
GEO was used in a 2023 research paper that tested how changes to a page affect whether AI answers use it. AEO came out of the SEO world, from the idea of optimizing for answers instead of rankings. Different teams prefer different names, but the work is the same.
How it differs from SEO
With SEO, you work toward a link on a results page, and the person decides whether to click. With GEO, the platform writes the answer itself, often from pages you don't own. Being named depends on what reviews, directories, comparisons and forums say about you, and on whether the platforms can read your own site.
For example, a project management tool might rank on page one of Google for "best project management software." If ChatGPT builds its answer from two comparison articles that don't mention the tool, it's invisible in that answer anyway.
What GEO work looks like
- Finding the questions your customers ask AI platforms
- Measuring how often you're named, and by which platforms
- Seeing which pages the platforms read to answer
- Getting named on those pages, and making your own pages easy to read and quote
- Checking that what the answers say about you is correct
Start by measuring
You can't tell whether a change worked unless you know where you stood before. That's what we do: we ask AI platforms your questions every day, count how often you're named, show the pages behind each answer, and suggest what to change next. See Your first days to start.