seo, geo and aeo: getting found by google and by ai.
What changes when people look for answers inside ChatGPT and not only on Google — and how to prepare your business.
In this article
Search has changed (really)
For twenty years, "getting found" meant one thing only: being at the top of Google. Today a growing share of searches never touches a results page: people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or a voice assistant directly, and receive an answer, not a list of links. If your business isn't inside that answer, then for whoever asked, you simply don't exist.
SEO: the foundation remains
Search Engine Optimization isn't dead — it has become the prerequisite. A fast site, clean structure, content that answers real questions, technical data in order: without this base, no visibility is possible, on Google or anywhere else. The difference is that today SEO is no longer enough on its own.
GEO: getting cited by generative engines
Generative Engine Optimization is the set of practices that increase the probability that a generative engine cites you as a source. AI models favour clear, structured content, with explicit definitions, verifiable data and a well-described business entity (who you are, where you are, what you do — including through structured data). In practice: writing to be understood by a hurried reader and a machine at the same time.
AEO: the direct answer
Answer Engine Optimization targets featured snippets and voice answers: crisp questions, answers in 2-3 sentences, FAQs structured with the right markup. It's the "spoken" format: whoever asks an assistant doesn't want ten options, they want the right answer.
Where to start
Three concrete moves: rewrite your key pages in question-and-answer form; add structured data (organisation, FAQs, articles); publish content that defines the terms of your sector. Whoever builds this foundation today will be the source of tomorrow's answers — the competitors who wait will be the garnish.
- More and more answers, fewer and fewer lists of links.
- SEO = prerequisite; GEO = getting cited; AEO = being the answer.
- Clarity, structure and verifiable data: what AI rewards.
- Start now and become the source; wait, and become the garnish.
quick answers.
What is the difference between SEO, GEO and AEO?
SEO optimises for classic search engines like Google; GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) for generative engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity; AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) for direct answers, from featured snippets to voice assistants.
How do you get cited by ChatGPT and AI assistants?
By publishing content with explicit answers in the opening lines, clear definitions, attributable data, schema.org structured data and a recognisable authorial identity.
Is SEO dead now that AI is here?
No: it remains the foundation. Generative engines feed on the same sources SEO makes visible; GEO and AEO are built on top of solid SEO, not in its place.
