AEO, GEO and AI search: what's the difference?

The industry hasn't settled on a name. Your buyers have already settled the question that matters: when they ask AI, does it name you?

Four terms, one goal

SEO

Search engine optimisation. Earning a place in a list of links. It still matters, because AI assistants draw on the same web.

AEO

Answer engine optimisation. Earning a place in the answer itself: the short list of names an assistant gives back. The term grew out of featured snippets and voice search, and now covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot.

GEO

Generative engine optimisation. The same goal described from the technology's side: being cited and recommended by generative AI. Introduced in 2023 academic research and now widely used by tools and agencies.

AI visibility

The umbrella term most marketing teams use. It describes the outcome rather than the method.

Whatever it's called, the work is the same.

Know which questions decide your market. See who AI names instead, and why. Give AI verifiable reasons to name you. Track it as answers change. We measure all of it with one number: Answer Share.

How we measure Answer Share →

AEO doesn't replace SEO.

Strong technical foundations help AI find and trust your pages. AEO adds what rankings don't show: whether you're named, how you're described, and who is recommended instead.

See whether AI names you.

Your free Answer Share report shows where you appear and who is named instead.

Check your Answer Share