Key facts
- GEO and AEO describe nearly the same work. GEO stresses generative AI answers.
- Generative answers often combine many sources into one response.
- Being described consistently across the web matters more in GEO than in SEO.
- GEO results vary between runs, so measure across many answers.
The key differences
- Output. SEO earns a link in a list. GEO earns a mention inside a written answer, which may or may not link to you.
- Scope. SEO focuses on your own pages. GEO covers your pages and how others describe you.
- Stability. Search rankings move slowly. Generative answers can change from one run to the next.
- Measurement. SEO tracks rank and clicks. GEO tracks the share of answers naming you, your position, sentiment and the sources cited.
How to plan both together
- 1Keep technical SEO strong: crawlable, fast, indexed pages.
- 2Choose the buyer questions that matter for GEO, alongside your SEO keywords.
- 3Write pages that rank and that answer clearly enough to be quoted.
- 4Add digital PR and community work to win the sources generative AI reads.
- 5Report SEO and GEO side by side, so leadership sees the full picture.
Put this into practice with Variask AI visibility, Variask Content studio and the free AI prompt idea generator. See Variask pricing or read the Variask FAQ.