OverviewWhat is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?
SEO is the foundation: a fast, well-structured website with a page for each service, the right keywords, strong local signals and a well-maintained Google Business Profile. AEO (answer engine optimisation) shapes your content so search engines can lift direct answers — the question-and-answer formats that win featured snippets and voice search. GEO (generative engine optimisation) helps AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity understand, trust and cite your business.
They overlap more than the acronyms suggest. Google has said its AI features are rooted in its core ranking systems, so strong SEO remains the base. On top of that, AI engines reward clear entity information (who you are, what you do, where), extractable answers, statistics with sources, consistent details across the web and genuine reviews. Research from Princeton on generative engine optimisation found that adding citations and statistics measurably increased how often content was surfaced in AI answers.
We handle all three as one program: technical fixes, service and location pages, answer-first content, schema, Google Business Profile management and review growth, plus monthly checks of how AI assistants describe your business. Our guide on getting recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI explains the approach in detail.