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GEO vs SEO vs AEO: Differences, Examples, and Google AI Overviews
Mike Holp · Published · Updated · Reviewed · 4 min read
SEO, GEO and AEO describe overlapping work with different measured outputs. SEO concerns search discovery; GEO concerns representation in generated answers; AEO concerns direct answers. In this guide, AIO means Google AI Overviews. These are working industry labels, not separate technical standards.
Short answer: Start with crawlable, useful pages. Measure ordinary search traffic in Search Console, and measure generated answers with a fixed prompt panel, saved answers and actual source links. Do not equate a search rank, brand mention and recommendation.
SEO vs GEO vs AEO vs AIO
| Term | Working definition | Evidence to record |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Search engine optimization | Search impressions, clicks and conversions |
| GEO | Generative engine optimization | Exact prompts, answers, mentions, recommendations and citations |
| AEO | Answer engine optimization | The displayed direct answer and its attributed source |
| AIO | Google AI Overviews in this guide | Query, country, device, date, feature presence and supporting links |
The GEO paper was first submitted in November 2023 and accepted to KDD 2024. Its benchmark is research evidence for a defined experimental setup, not a promise that the same content edit will improve every current AI product.
Choose the work by the observed problem
| Observed problem | Next check | Useful action |
|---|---|---|
| A page is missing from Search | URL Inspection and indexing eligibility | Resolve a verified crawl or indexing problem |
| A direct answer quotes inaccurate information | Inspect the cited passage | Correct the facts and make the explanation self-contained |
| An unbranded prompt recommends a competitor | Save the answer and original cited URLs | Investigate a relevant content or source gap |
| A branded prompt knows you, but category prompts omit you | Separate the two prompt groups | Improve the buyer-question coverage; preserve separate rates |
| An AI Overview disappears | Repeat the same query with the same context | Record feature absence separately from ranking or citation loss |
Worked example: one business, different outcomes
Illustrative example, reviewed September 9, 2026: a fictional clinic receives 100 Search impressions, is named in four of ten valid unbranded AI answers, is recommended in two, and has its website cited in one. Those observations describe different outcomes:
- Search visibility: 100 impressions in the selected Search Console period.
- AI mention rate: 4/10, or 40%, in this sampled panel.
- AI recommendation rate: 2/10, or 20%.
- First-party citation rate: 1/10, or 10%.
None establishes population-wide visibility or proves that a website change caused the result. Ten answers is a small sample, and repeated answers may be correlated. Keep failed requests outside the valid-answer denominator and report them separately. Use the measurement guide for a worked coverage calculation.
Google AI features use Search fundamentals
Google says existing SEO practices apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode; no special AI markup or text file is required. See Google’s AI feature guidance. Indexability and snippet eligibility are requirements, not inclusion guarantees.
Keep important information in visible text, link relevant pages together, and make any structured data agree with the page. A valid Schema.org graph is not the same as an eligible Google search enhancement. Google retired FAQ rich results in May 2026; visible FAQs can still help readers. See the documentation changelog and validator comparison.
A repeatable workflow
- Choose a customer decision and the market it applies to.
- Keep an unbranded buying panel separate from brand-recognition questions.
- Record the actual API or consumer surface, model when known, retrieval settings, date and answer.
- Label a mention, recommendation and citation independently; preserve the original evidence.
- Make one justified content or technical improvement and log it.
- Repeat the same panel, checking configuration and coverage before comparing rates.
A Gemini API answer is not a Google AI Overview. A ChatGPT API result is not proof of what every signed-in ChatGPT user sees. Treat each surface as its own measurement.
FAQ
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. Useful content, crawlability and clear site structure support both. Measure their outcomes separately instead of replacing search traffic with an unexplained AI score.
Does llms.txt improve Google AI rankings?
Google says llms.txt is not needed for Search and does not positively or negatively affect visibility or rankings. It can be maintained for other systems that choose to use it; it is not a Google optimization shortcut. See the Google update.
What should a local business do first?
Check its public identity, service information and crawlability, then collect a small unbranded baseline. Use a free AI visibility scan and review its methodology and limitations before choosing fixes.
Does a citation mean a recommendation?
No. An answer can cite a page as background without recommending its publisher. Preserve the sentence and URL so the distinction can be checked.
Sources
- Aggarwal and colleagues: GEO, submitted 2023, KDD 2024
- Google: AI features and your website
- Google: documentation updates, including FAQ retirement and llms.txt guidance
Primary sources checked September 9, 2026. Definitions and the clinic example are editorial explanations, not a live customer study.
Keep going
Turn the ideas in this article into a measurable baseline for your own site.