GEO vs SEO vs AEO: what each one means, and which you need.
The short answer
SEO is the work of ranking in Google's list of results. AEO, answer engine optimization, is the work of being the direct answer a search engine or voice assistant reads out. GEO, generative engine optimization (also called LLMO), is the work of being named and cited inside the answers that ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity write. They are layers of one job, not rivals: most of what helps one helps the others.
The four terms side by side
| SEO | AEO | GEO | LLMO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Search engine optimization | Answer engine optimization | Generative engine optimization | Large language model optimization |
| The goal | Rank high in a list of links | Be the one answer that is shown or read out | Be named, described correctly and cited inside a written AI answer | The same goal as GEO, under another name |
| Where it shows | Google and Bing results pages | Featured snippets, answer boxes, voice assistants | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode | The same places as GEO |
| What success looks like | A click to your site | Your words used as the answer | Your business in the answer, in the right words, with your site as a source | The same as GEO |
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is everything that helps a page rank in a search engine's list of results: pages that match what people search for, a site that loads and can be crawled, clear structure, and other sites that link to yours. The reader still chooses: they scan the list and click. SEO is measured in rankings, impressions and clicks; for your own site Google Search Console reports clicks, impressions and average position.
What is AEO?
Answer engine optimization is the work of becoming the answer rather than one of the links. It grew out of featured snippets and voice search, where a search engine shows or reads a single answer. Google's AI Overviews sit where SEO and GEO meet (our tracker does not measure them). AEO rewards a page that states the answer plainly in its first sentences, uses the question as a heading, and marks up its content with structured data so a machine can tell what each part is.
What is GEO, and what is GEO in SEO?
Generative engine optimization is the work of being included when an AI assistant writes an answer. The name comes from a 2023 research paper titled "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization". In a generated answer there is often no list at all: the assistant names a few businesses, describes them in its own words and, often, lists the sites it drew on. A business is either in that answer or it is not.
"GEO in SEO" is a fair way to put it: GEO sits on top of SEO, it does not replace it. The groundwork is shared (a crawlable site, clear facts, pages that answer real questions, a good reputation on other sites). What GEO adds is a different question to measure: not "where do I rank?" but "when someone asks an assistant, am I named, and is what it says about me true?"
For GEO on its own, read what GEO actually means.
What is LLMO?
LLMO, large language model optimization, is another name for the same work as GEO. You will also see "AI SEO", "LLM SEO" and "AI search optimization". The names differ by who is selling; the work is the same: be a clear, consistent, citable source that AI assistants can find and trust.
What AI answers look like, measured
We put customer-style questions to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, asked each one to name specific businesses it would recommend, and counted every answer that came back without an error: questions about a service, a place or a problem, never a business's own name. Between September 8 and October 7, 2026 that came to 4,868 answers.
| Assistant | Named the business we asked for | Listed at least one source | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 15.7% | 93.3% | 2,481 |
| Claude | 10.5% | 90.5% | 1,356 |
| Gemini (from Sep 29) | 4.8% | 94.4% | 627 |
| Perplexity (Oct 7 only) | 6.2% | 100.0% | 404 |
The business we asked for was named in a minority of answers. ChatGPT named it in 15.7% of its answers, Claude in 10.5%, Perplexity in 6.2% and Gemini in 4.8%.
Nearly every answer listed a source. Perplexity listed at least one source in 100.0% of its answers, Gemini in 94.4%, ChatGPT in 93.3% and Claude in 90.5%. The sites an assistant cites are one of the places its description of you comes from.
Our view: a good Google ranking does not put a business into these answers by itself. The work that does is the same work this page describes: clear facts on your own site, the same details everywhere you are listed, and pages that answer the questions your customers actually ask, so that your site is one of the sources the assistant cites.
How to read these figures. The questions are the ones we track for the businesses we measure: our customers and 8ight's own companies. That is a small set, not a random sample, and the mix of businesses is not the same on every assistant, so read the figures as what these answers looked like, not as a market average, and the gaps between assistants as a direction, not a ranking. "Named" means the business the question was asked for appears in the answer. "Listed a source" means the answer came with at least one cited web address. Assistants with fewer than 100 answers in the window are left out; Gemini is counted from September 29 and Perplexity from October 7 only. Source: 8ight measurement, 4,868 AI answers, September 8 to October 7, 2026, computed by one stored query.
GEO vs SEO: what changes and what does not
- Stays the same: a site that loads, can be crawled and says clearly who you are, where you work and what you do.
- Stays the same: pages that answer real questions in plain words.
- Stays the same: other trusted sites that mention you and agree with each other about your details.
- Changes: the result is a written answer, not a list, so being fifth is close to being absent.
- Changes: accuracy matters as much as presence: an assistant can name you and still get your hours, prices or services wrong.
- Changes: you measure it differently. Search Console does not show what ChatGPT or Claude say about you; you have to ask the assistants the questions your customers ask and keep the answers.
Do you need GEO, SEO and AEO?
For most businesses, yes, and in that order of groundwork. If your site is not indexed or your basic facts are wrong, start there, because every assistant and every search engine reads the same sources. Once the basics hold, the extra GEO work is measuring what the assistants say and closing the gaps.
A made-up example, not a real business: a reformer pilates studio ranks well on Google for "reformer classes near me", but when someone asks ChatGPT for a beginner-friendly reformer studio, the answer names three other studios and describes this one as mat only. SEO did its job; the answer did not. Correcting the class details on the studio's own pages and listings, and publishing a page that answers the beginner question directly, is GEO work.
How to check where you stand
- SEO: Google Search Console shows your clicks, impressions and average position.
- AEO: search your main questions and see whose words appear in the answer box.
- GEO: ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini the questions your customers ask, the same questions every week, and keep the answers. Our free AI visibility check asks ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude one such question (who is the best business in your trade and city) and shows whether they name you.
Where 8ight fits
8ight tracks what ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini answer to your customers' questions, every week by default, and shows whether you were named, who was named instead and what was said. It also writes and publishes articles to your own website that answer those questions, each one checked automatically against the facts and rules you have given us before it goes live.
No one can promise that an assistant will name a business, and we do not. Start with the free AI visibility check, or read how generative engine optimization works at 8ight and how the articles are published.
Related reading
Questions, answered
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. GEO builds on SEO: the same crawlable site, clear facts and trusted mentions feed both. What GEO adds is measuring and improving what AI assistants say about you, which Google rankings do not show.
What is AEO in simple terms?
AEO, answer engine optimization, is making your page the one answer a search engine or voice assistant gives, instead of one link in a list. It favours pages that answer the question in their first sentences.
Is LLMO the same as GEO?
Yes, in practice. LLMO (large language model optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) both mean being named and cited correctly in answers written by AI assistants; "AI SEO" and "LLM SEO" are used for the same work.
What is GEO in SEO?
It is the part of search work aimed at AI answers rather than ranked links. It shares SEO's groundwork and adds one question: when a customer asks an assistant, is your business named, and correctly?
How do I know whether AI assistants mention my business?
Ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini the questions your customers would ask, not your business name, and keep the answers week after week. The free AI visibility check at 8ight.ai/check asks ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude one such question (who is the best business in your trade and city) and shows whether they name you.
