SEO, AEO and GEO: what is the difference?
Three related methods, three places your business can appear.
SEO helps a website rank in search results. AEO helps content become the direct answer in snippets and voice search. GEO helps AI tools mention and cite a business in generated answers.
SEO: rank in results
Search engine optimization covers technical health, useful content, keywords and links. It remains the foundation, because a site that cannot be crawled or trusted will struggle everywhere else.
AEO: be the answer
Answer engine optimization targets people who want one direct response. It uses question-based headings, short answers placed first, and FAQ structured data.
GEO: be cited by AI
Generative engine optimization focuses on being understood and referenced by AI tools. It depends on clarity, credibility and consistency across the web.
Which one do you need?
Most businesses benefit from all three, in that order. Fix the SEO foundation, structure your content for AEO, and then strengthen the signals that support GEO. The same work often helps all three.