If you’ve felt a bit dizzy trying to keep up with all the new marketing acronyms lately, you are absolutely not alone. I get asked about this constantly by clients and honestly, it’s one of the biggest shifts I’ve seen in this industry since I started out. So let’s break it down properly, no jargon, just plain talk, the way I’d explain it to you over a coffee.
For years, SEO was the only game in town. Get your website ranking on Google, and the customers followed. Simple. But your customers aren’t just typing into Google anymore. More and more of them are asking ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity a question the way they’d ask a friend and getting a written answer handed straight back to them, sometimes with no need to click through to a website at all. That’s where GEO and AEO come into it. Here’s what each one actually means.
SEO: The one we all know
Search Engine Optimisation is getting your website to rank well in traditional search results on Google or Bing. It’s a mix of good content, the right keywords, a technically healthy site and other reputable websites linking back to you. I’ve built my whole career on this one and it’s still the foundation everything else sits on. If your SEO basics aren’t solid, GEO and AEO won’t save you.
AEO: Getting picked as THE answer
Answer Engine Optimisation is about becoming the answer, not just one of the results. Think featured snippets, the “People Also Ask” box, or what Siri or Google Assistant reads out when someone asks a question out loud. If a customer asks “what’s the best way to improve local SEO in Ireland” and your content is the bit that gets pulled out and read back to them, that’s AEO doing its job.
GEO: Getting your name dropped by AI
Generative Engine Optimisation is the newest of the three and it’s all about visibility inside AI-generated answers. When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question and it writes them a little summary, citing sources as it goes, GEO is what determines whether your business is one of the ones mentioned. I’ll be honest, this is the one I find most exciting, and it’s exactly the kind of thing my AI for Business training keeps me digging into.
So what’s actually different?
Here’s the simplest way I can put it: SEO gets your page ranked. AEO gets your content used as the direct answer. GEO gets your business mentioned or cited when an AI tool writes its own response. They overlap more than they compete, in fact, Google’s AI Overviews are doing a bit of both AEO and GEO at the same time. The good news is you don’t need three separate strategies running in parallel. You need one strong foundation that feeds all three.
What I’d actually be doing about it
A few practical starting points I’d genuinely recommend to any small business owner:
- Answer the question early. Open your web pages and blog posts with a clear, direct answer before you go into detail. Both AI tools and Google favour this.
- Use question-based headings. If your customers are asking it, use it as a heading. “How much does website design cost in Ireland?” works far harder than “Our Pricing.”
- Add structure. Numbered steps, short lists, and clear formatting make it much easier for readers and AI tools alike to lift and use your content.
- Keep your details consistent everywhere. Your Google Business Profile, website, directories and review sites should all describe your business the same way. AI tools cross-reference this when deciding who to trust.
- Build genuine credibility. Reviews, local press mentions, guest posts and being named by other reputable sites all feed AEO and GEO, not just traditional SEO.
None of this replaces good, solid SEO, it builds on it. If your foundations are strong, you’re already most of the way there.
If you’re not sure where your own business currently stands with any of this, it’s exactly the kind of thing we dig into together in a Digital Marketing Clinic session, no pressure, just a clear, honest look at what’s working and what’s worth prioritising next. Drop me a message and we’ll find a time that suits.
