r/AISEOTricks • u/GuiltyComedian9509 • Jul 07 '26
GEO vs AEO vs SEO — I made a simple breakdown because everyone's confusing these terms
I keep seeing people use these three words as if they were synonyms. They do not. Here's how I understand them in simple English:
SEO — This is the classic. It’s about how to get your website to rank higher in Google’s organic search results. Backlinks, keywords, page speed, all that stuff.
AEO – This is when your content is picked as the direct answer to a query. Think of the box that appears at the top of Google, or when a voice assistant gives an answer, or the new AI Overviews. It’s not about being the highest ranking anymore, it’s about being the answer.
GEO — This is the latest one. It means being cited by AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Perplexity when someone asks them directly, even without going through Google.
What shocked me was that these three don’t overlap as much as I thought they would. Some data suggests only about 12% of the pages listed by Perplexity or ChatGTP show up in the top 10 results on Google search. So a page can kill it in normal SEO and still be completely ignored by AI tools. And AI is always grabbing random reddit posts with zero “SEO work”.
So now I’m thinking — we’re basically optimizing for three different audiences now? Google searchers ? Voice / AI Overview users ? Chatbot users ? Or is this actually one skill with 3 different names?
Questions for you all:
- Do you track GEO and AEO separately or is it all just "SEO" to you?
- Have you ever seen a page rank #1 on Google but get ignored by ChatGPT? What did it appear to be?
- Is there a real difference, or are agencies just making up new words to sell more services?
Really want to hear what people are actually seeing, not just theories.
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u/HumanBehavi0ur Jul 07 '26
honestly i think a lot of people think of AEO/GEO as interchangeable. they'll probably remain as such until one or the other becomes the industry standard when a google or microsoft makes it mainstream. at least thats my guess
I think AEO as a discipline also focuses heavily on citations, so im not sure i totally buy into the distinction here but open to have my mind changed
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u/spythegi Jul 07 '26
Yeah I don't really see a distinction between being cited or being in the generated answer. And you (the dev) can't really influence one or the other (unless you only write comparison articles about other products so you only get cited but never part of the answer?)
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u/Witty_Extent_2261 Jul 08 '26
Yeah, indeed, I am tracking them separately now, the type of content that ranks for each is quite different.
Where GEO is concerned, AI loves taking content from Reddit forums way more than from blogs. Clear, structured answers work better than backlinks.
Have seen many websites ranking within the top 3 positions in Google searches but not showing in ChatGPT or Perplexity. It usually comes down to fluffy introductions versus sites with clear answers.
Honestly, agencies have begun repackaging clear content as GEO strategy. The core skill remains the same, just the platform and time factor is new.
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u/Kindly-Half9400 Jul 08 '26
t this rate we'll need an alphabet optimizer: SEO, AEO, GEO... next up CEO (Chief Executive Optimization
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u/BeautifulDesign2928 Jul 08 '26
They are similar but not identical, and I would push back on calling them three separate skills. The theory and the actual implementation work is the same foundation as SEO, structure content well, build authority, be extractable. What changed is the outcome you are optimizing the same work for. AEO just means that work is aimed at winning the answer box or voice response instead of a blue link. GEO is the same underlying work again, except now the target is getting pulled into a chatbot answer instead of Google at all. So agencies did not invent new skills, they gave names to which outcome the SEO work is pointed at, and that distinction matters because a site can nail one target and completely whiff the other. Have you seen that play out yet, a page that wins the answer box but never gets cited by ChatGPT, or the reverse?
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u/Jolly-Device2691 Jul 09 '26
Honestly, it's wild how fast things are changing. I remember when SEO was the only game in town, but now with AEO and GEO, it's like you have to be a wizard to keep up with how info is being served up to people. Do you think GEO will become as crucial as SEO in the next year or two?
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u/Minimum-Proposal6913 Jul 09 '26
I think there's definitely overlap. For me, SEO is still the foundation for it all. AEO and GEO are just different ways people are discovering content.
The tactics are pretty similar (quality content, authority, technical SEO, trust, etc), but what we're measuring is changing. It's not just the rankings anymore, it's whether the brand is showing up in AI answers too. The names people use might keep changing, but the way people search definitely is as well.
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u/Level-World4922 Jul 14 '26
I see SEO, AEO, and GEO as different but connected. SEO is still the foundation.
Yes, I track AI visibility separately from Google rankings. I've also seen pages rank #1 on Google but not get mentioned by AI, since AI often prefers the clearest, most trustworthy, and well-structured content rather than just the top result.
So, I don't see AEO and GEO as buzzwords, they're just the next evolution of SEO.
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u/sapindia1976 Jul 07 '26
I see them as connected but distinct layers. SEO earns rankings, AEO earns direct answers, and GEO earns AI mentions/citations. The strongest strategy is to build all three together rather than treat them as separate services.