GEOAEOSEO
What are GEO and AEO? (And how they differ from SEO)
// In short
GEO (generative engine optimization) aims to get AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to cite or recommend your brand. AEO (answer engine optimization) shapes each page so it becomes the direct answer to a question. Neither replaces SEO: AI tools search the web before answering and lean on pages that already rank well.
If you've already read the short definitions on our SEO, GEO and AEO page, this article goes one step further: where these terms come from, how AI tools decide which sites to cite, what really changes compared with SEO and what doesn't, and how to measure it without expensive tools.
What is GEO, in one sentence?
GEO (generative engine optimization) is the work of getting an AI assistant, such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity, to use your content when it builds an answer and to name your brand when someone asks for a recommendation.
The difference from a classic search engine is the output. Google shows you ten links and you choose. An assistant reads several sources, writes a single answer and decides who gets cited. If you're not among those sources, you don't exist for that person.
Where the term comes from
The term was proposed by a team of researchers from Princeton University, IIT Delhi and two independent researchers: Pranjal Aggarwal, Vishvak Murahari, Tanmay Rajpurohit, Ashwin Kalyan, Karthik Narasimhan and Ameet Deshpande. Their paper, GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, was released as a preprint in November 2023 and presented at KDD 2024, the ACM data mining conference held in Barcelona in August 2024.
They tested nine ways of rewriting the same content and measured how often it then appeared in a generative engine's answers. Three findings apply to any business:
- Citing sources, adding statistics and adding quotations were the methods that gained the most visibility: the paper reports improvements of up to 40%.
- Keyword stuffing didn't work. In the Perplexity test, keyword-stuffed content performed about 10% worse than the original.
- Smaller sites gained the most. A source ranked fifth in the results improved its visibility by 115% by citing sources, while the top-ranked source lost ground.
Keep the scope in mind: this was an experiment with a lab engine and with Perplexity in 2024, not a rule for how ChatGPT works today. Treat it as direction, not a guarantee.
What is AEO?
AEO (answer engine optimization) is narrower and older than GEO: it grew up with Google's featured snippets and voice assistants. Its goal is for one specific page to be the answer to one specific question.
In practice, AEO is writing and structure work:
- The question as a heading (H2) and the direct answer in the first two lines below it.
- Definitions, numbered steps and tables a machine can extract without interpreting.
- FAQs with structured data that matches the visible text.
A simple way to see it: AEO works on the page; GEO works on the brand. AEO gets you cited for an answer. GEO also aims for AI to name you when someone asks "who should I hire?".
How do AI tools choose which sources to cite?
They don't all work the same way. Here is what the companies themselves say:
| Platform | Where it gets information | What you need to get in |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google's index. It runs several related searches at once (what Google calls query fan-out) and shows supporting links. | Your page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet in regular Search. |
| ChatGPT (search) | Searches the web when the question calls for it, using third-party search providers and its own crawler, and links to sources. | Allow OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt. Blocking GPTBot (training) doesn't remove you from search. |
| Perplexity | Searches the internet in real time and adds numbered citations to each answer. | Be crawlable and have content that answers the question clearly. |
The takeaway is awkward for anyone selling GEO as something entirely new: all three platforms start with a web search. If your site doesn't show up in that search, the AI has nothing to cite.
SEO vs GEO: what changes and what doesn't
What does NOT change
Google is explicit in its guidance on AI features in Search: there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and you don't need to create AI files or special markup. What it asks for is the usual:
- Crawlers can get in (no unnecessary blocks in robots.txt).
- Important content is in text, not hidden inside images.
- Internal links that connect your pages.
- Structured data that matches what users see.
In other words, a site with technical SEO problems also has GEO problems.
What DOES change
| Aspect | Classic SEO | GEO and AEO |
|---|---|---|
| What competes | The whole page | A paragraph, a table or an answer inside the page |
| What helps you | Relevance, authority and links | All of that, plus direct answers, sourced figures and easy-to-extract data |
| What matters off your site | Links pointing to you | Also mentions, reviews and comparisons featuring your brand |
| What counts as success | A visit to your site | Being cited or recommended, even without a click |
| How it's measured | Rankings and clicks in Search Console | Sampling questions in each assistant, plus Search Console |
The last row matters most: part of the value happens without a click. If ChatGPT recommends your business and someone emails you, Google Analytics won't record it as an organic visit.
Examples for a small business
A dental clinic. A patient asks ChatGPT: "how long does clear aligner treatment take, and which clinics near me offer it?". To be part of that answer, the clinic needs an aligner page that states the duration in the first line, explains the stages as numbered steps, says where it's located and shows who the treating dentist is. For the AI to recommend it, the clinic also needs consistent reviews on Google and mentions in health directories, because that's what the assistant finds when it looks for opinions.
An HVAC maintenance company. An office manager asks Gemini: "how often should an air conditioner be serviced?". The short answer (a frequency, with its source) is AEO work. Getting the AI to suggest that company when the manager later asks "who does AC maintenance in my area?" is GEO: it depends on the company's name, services and service area appearing the same way on its site, its Google Business Profile and the sites that talk about it.
How to measure whether AI cites you
There's no "Search Console for ChatGPT". The most honest way to measure today is an orderly manual sample:
- List 10 to 20 real customer questions: informational ("what is…?"), comparison ("which is better…?") and buying ("who does… in [city]?").
- Ask them in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google (check whether an AI Overview appears).
- Repeat each question several times in fresh sessions. Answers change from one run to the next, so a single test tells you nothing. Five runs per question already give a useful signal.
- Log three things in a spreadsheet: whether you're mentioned, whether you're cited with a link and which competitors appear.
- Turn it into a percentage (for example, "cited in 6 of 20 answers") and repeat monthly with the same questions.
Add the data you already have: Google says traffic from its AI features is counted in the Search Console Performance report, under the "Web" search type. And on your forms, add "An AI assistant recommended you" as an option under "How did you hear about us?".
GEO and AEO checklist: 10 points
- Robots.txt reviewed: Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot aren't blocked by mistake.
- Key pages are indexed in Google (check in Search Console).
- Each service page answers its main question in the first two lines.
- H2 headings are written the way your customers ask.
- Figures and claims with a linked, dated source.
- Comparison tables and numbered steps wherever the topic allows.
- Visible author with demonstrable experience, plus an updated date on each article.
- FAQs with structured data that matches the visible text.
- Name, services, area and contact details identical on your site, your Google Business Profile and your industry directories.
- Monthly measurement with the same question list in each assistant.
How we did it on emignia.com. Our robots.txt explicitly allows search and AI crawlers (including GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Bingbot). We publish /llms.txt and a full version at /llms-full.txt, and every blog article shows its author and date and has FAQs with structured data. llms.txt is a bet, not a requirement: Google states its AI features don't need special files. We explain it in what is llms.txt.
If you want to move from theory to action on ChatGPT specifically, continue with how to appear in ChatGPT. If you'd rather start with the technical foundation, check your site with the free SEO audit or see how we work SEO, GEO and AEO together.
Frequently asked questions
Are GEO and AEO the same thing?
Not quite. AEO focuses on making a page answer a specific question well, so it shows up as a direct answer. GEO is broader: it aims to get AI to mention and recommend your brand, which depends on your own site and on what other sites say about you.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. Google says its AI features rely on its index and search systems, and ChatGPT and Perplexity search the web before answering. If your site isn't indexed and ranking reasonably well, AI tools are unlikely to find it, let alone cite it.
Do I need special code or a file to appear in AI Overviews?
No. Google's official guidance says there are no additional requirements: no special markup and no AI-specific files. The page has to be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet, the same as in regular search.
How do I know if ChatGPT recommends my business?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions a customer would ask, repeat each one several times, and note whether you're mentioned, whether you're cited with a link and which competitors appear. Answers vary between runs, so you measure it as a percentage.
How long does GEO take to show results?
It depends on what needs fixing. Unblocking AI crawlers or rewriting a page can show up within weeks, once the assistant reads the site again. Getting recommended over competitors usually takes longer, because it depends on reviews and mentions on other sites.
Is GEO worth it for a small business?
Yes. In the study that coined the term GEO, sources ranked lower in the results were the ones that gained the most visibility after improving their content. Local and niche questions are also where a small business competes best.
Sources
- Aggarwal, Murahari, Rajpurohit, Kalyan, Narasimhan and Deshpande, GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, KDD 2024: arXiv 2311.09735 and ACM Digital Library.
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website.
- OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI crawlers.
- OpenAI, Introducing ChatGPT search (October 31, 2024).
- Perplexity, How does Perplexity work?
Information reviewed as of October 12, 2026.
