The short version:
- SEO ranks a link. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) gets you named in the AI answer itself. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is another name for the same new job.
- GEO is a layer on top of SEO, not a replacement. Search still drives most of the traffic that pays your bills.
- The link between ranking first and getting named by AI is coming apart, which is why you now have to measure both.
What is GEO?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization: the work of getting your business into the answer an AI assistant gives when someone asks it a question. The term came out of a 2023 research paper. It means the same thing as AEO. For a fuller definition, see what is AEO.
What is the difference between GEO and SEO?
SEO tries to rank your page in a list of links a person scrolls through. GEO tries to make your business one of the few names an AI says back in a single answer. The signals differ too. SEO leans on keywords, backlinks, and on-page structure. GEO leans on what third-party sources say about you: editorial coverage, reviews, and the way authoritative sites describe your brand.
There is no page two in an AI answer. The assistant names three to five businesses, and the buyer reads them. You are in that set, or you are not in the conversation at all.
Does SEO still matter?
Yes. SEO is half the picture, not a dead one. The audience is moving into the answer, but search still sends most of the traffic, and the two feed each other. Strong coverage helps you rank and helps AI name you. The change is that your search rank alone no longer decides the AI result, so you can keep your rankings and still be missing from the place buyers now decide.
How do you measure GEO?
You measure it by running the real questions buyers ask across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, then counting where you land, broken out by buying stage. A single “how often does AI mention me” number hides the truth, because the same brand can be invisible early and strong later.
That is what an Adacity report does. See how your report works, read the full argument in AEO vs SEO: hype, or the shift that's already here?, or see why Adacity.
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