The short answer
Three names for overlapping work, not three channels.
SEO, AEO and GEO are three names for overlapping work, not three separate marketing channels. SEO, search engine optimization, earns your pages rankings in search results and the Map Pack. AEO, answer engine optimization, shapes those pages so AI tools and featured snippets quote them as the answer. GEO, generative engine optimization, works on how generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity describe and recommend your business.
The labels come from the marketing industry, not from the search engines. Google’s own documentation talks about AI Overviews and AI Mode, not AEO or GEO, and it says the same SEO practices apply to all of its search features. Agencies coined the acronyms to describe a real shift: more customer questions now end with a written answer instead of a click on a website.
The shift is real. Selling it back to you as three separately priced services usually isn’t. Here’s what each term means, and what you should expect to receive when one shows up on a proposal.
| Term | Stands for | What it aims for | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | Search engine optimization | Rank your pages in search results and the Map Pack | Google and Bing results, Google Maps |
| AEO | Answer engine optimization | Get your page quoted as the direct answer | AI Overviews, AI Mode, featured snippets, voice answers |
| GEO | Generative engine optimization | Get your business described and recommended correctly | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, AI Mode |
SEO
SEO is the foundation the other two stand on.
SEO is the work of getting your pages found in search. For a service business that means a fast site Google can crawl, a page for every service and every main town you cover, a Google Business Profile with correct details, consistent directory listings, a steady flow of reviews, links from other local sites, and tracking that ties all of it to calls and booked jobs.
When an agency sells you SEO, you should see a list of pages to build or fix, a local and Google Business Profile plan, a link-building plan and a monthly report in calls and leads, not only rankings. At Lithium Marketing, a typical local SEO program runs $1,300 to $3,000 a month.
SEO is the foundation because AI tools don’t invent their sources. Google’s AI features pull from Google’s index. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot send their own crawlers and draw on search indexes too. A page that doesn’t rank for anything rarely becomes the page an AI quotes.
AEO
AEO is writing pages that get quoted.
AEO focuses on the answer itself. It takes the questions customers ask before they call, like “how long does a roof replacement take” or “should I repair or replace my AC,” and makes sure your site answers each one in two or three plain sentences at the top of the right page, with the specifics behind it.
When an agency sells you AEO, the deliverables should be concrete: a list of customer questions mapped to the pages that will answer them, rewritten opening paragraphs on your service pages, new pages for questions you don’t cover yet, FAQ sections written from real calls, and schema markup that matches what the page says. If a proposal can’t name the pages, it isn’t AEO work. It’s an acronym.
For the full definition and how it relates to SEO, read what AEO means in marketing .
GEO
GEO is how AI tools describe your business.
GEO looks past your own pages to the whole web’s picture of your business. When someone asks ChatGPT “who’s a good electrician in Tacoma,” the tool builds its answer from what it can find about each company: its website, its reviews, its directory listings, news and association mentions, and comparison articles. GEO is the work of making that picture accurate, consistent and strong.
When an agency sells you GEO, look for these deliverables:
- One set of business facts (name, phone, hours, services, service area) matched across your site, Google, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and the major directories
- A plan for third-party mentions: reviews, trade associations, local press, supplier and manufacturer dealer listings
- Robots rules that let the AI search crawlers, such as OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot, read your site
- An llms.txt file pointing AI tools at your key pages (helpful, never a substitute for the pages)
- Regular checks of what the main AI tools say about you, with fixes for anything wrong
You’ll also hear other labels for the same work: AI SEO, AI search optimization, AIO and LLMO. The line between them is blurry, and agencies don’t agree on it. Judge the deliverables, not the name. The marketing glossary defines these and the other terms you’ll meet in a proposal.
Where they overlap
One good page change does all three jobs.
Take a roofing company’s roof replacement page. Today it opens with “Quality roofing you can trust” and a stock photo. The fix: open with what a replacement costs in that market as a range, how long it takes, which materials the company installs and which towns it covers. Add a project gallery, a short FAQ written from real phone calls, schema that matches the page, and links to the repair and gutter pages.
That one change is SEO, because the page now targets the searches people make and earns its rankings. It’s AEO, because an AI Overview has a clean answer to quote. And it’s GEO, because the facts about the company are now specific and match what its Google Business Profile says. One piece of work, three acronyms.
This is why Google’s guidance on AI features tells site owners to keep doing what works in SEO: crawlable pages, internal links, important content in text, structured data that matches the visible page, and an up-to-date Business Profile. It also says you don’t need special AI markup or an AI text file to appear. Our longer take on that is why your SEO is already most of your AI search strategy .
Buying the work
Six questions to ask before you pay for AEO or GEO.
Which pages will you change?
A good answer names URLs and the questions each one will answer. A vague answer about “building AI authority” tells you nothing you can check.
Is this separate from my SEO, and why?
If you already pay for SEO, ask what the AEO or GEO line adds that the SEO work doesn’t. Often the honest answer is nothing.
What do you need from us?
Real answers need real facts: prices or price ranges, timelines, warranties, licenses, project photos. An agency that never asks is writing generic copy.
How will you check what AI tools say about us?
Look for regular spot checks of the main AI tools on your key questions, plus AI referral visits tracked in GA4.
Do you promise mentions or citations?
If yes, walk away. Nobody controls which sources an AI tool cites.
Will you publish AI-written pages in bulk?
Google’s spam policies target large volumes of low-value pages made to manipulate rankings, however they’re made. Mass-produced city or FAQ pages put your whole site at risk.
At Lithium Marketing, AEO and GEO are part of every SEO program . We never price them separately and we don’t sell a standalone AI audit. The approach has produced results we can name: Sarkinen Plumbing holds 44 number-one rankings in AI search, and Dixie Glass has 39 AI mentions with an AI audience reach of more than 150,000.
When you’re ready to do the work yourself or check an agency’s plan, the answer engine optimization guide lays it out step by step, and how to appear in Google AI Overviews covers Google’s side.
