SEO vs AEO vs GEO.
What each one is for.
A business can rank on page one of Google and never be named when a customer asks ChatGPT the same question. Another can be quoted in a Google AI Overview without anyone clicking through. SEO, AEO and GEO are the names for those three ways of being found. They share most of their groundwork, then split on who reads your site and how you know it worked.
Claims about Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity and Microsoft link to their own documentation or the original study, read on 23 September 2026. Updated 24 September 2026. 9-minute read. How we write these guides.
The short answer.
SEO is making a page rank in a list of links when someone types a query into Google or Bing. AEO is being the source a system quotes when it answers a question directly instead of handing over a page of links. GEO is being visible to the assistants themselves, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. All three rest on pages machines can read and facts that match everywhere.
How do SEO, AEO and GEO differ?
SEO works on a page and its place in a list. AEO works on a passage, the few sentences a system lifts and shows as the answer. GEO works on the business as a whole: whether an assistant can find it, read it and name it. Take a plumber in Brisbane.
- SEO: their page on blocked drains appears in Google's list of links for 'blocked drain Brisbane'.
- AEO: someone asks Google why their drain gurgles, and the answer at the top of the page quotes the plumber's explanation.
- GEO: someone asks ChatGPT who can clear a blocked drain in Carindale, and the assistant names the business.
AEO and GEO overlap, which is why they get confused. Both play out in Google's AI Overviews and in the answers ChatGPT and Perplexity give. The difference is the question each asks. AEO asks whether a system will quote this passage from this page. GEO asks whether an assistant can reach and recognise this business at all. Each has its own guide: what AEO is and what GEO is.
How do the three compare?
The last two rows are worth showing to anyone who sells you search work.
| Compare | SEO | AEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it wins | A click from a list of links | The quote: your words used as the answer | The mention: an assistant names your business |
| Where it shows up | A page of ranked links | An answer box, an AI summary or a spoken reply | An assistant's reply, where there is no results page, or an AI Overview |
| Which systems | Google Search and Bing | Featured snippets, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, voice assistants, and answers in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews |
| What you work on | Titles, headings, speed, mobile rendering, a clean sitemap, suburb and service area, Google Business Profile | One real question per section, the answer first, visible FAQs, structured data that matches the page | Real HTML, crawler access set by name, the same facts everywhere, mentions on other sites, an optional llms.txt |
| How you measure it | Clicks, impressions and average position in Search Console[1] | Partly: Google counts AI Overviews and AI Mode inside Search Console's Web figures[2] and in its Generative AI performance report[3] | Google's Generative AI performance report for AI Overviews and AI Mode[3], Copilot citations in Bing Webmaster Tools[4]; for the rest, ask and keep a log |
| Where it goes wrong | Vague titles, every service on one page, slow on a phone | The answer sits under three paragraphs of preamble | Crawlers blocked, pages blank without JavaScript, facts that disagree |
| What nobody can promise | A position: Google says no one can guarantee the top spot[5] | The quote: Google says you cannot request a featured snippet[6] | The mention: you control access, never the answer |
Where do they split?
In three places: who can read the page, who you let in, and what counts as a result.
Who can read the page
Google renders JavaScript in a headless Chromium browser, though a page can wait in a queue first[9]. Google's own documentation adds that not all bots can run JavaScript[9]. A December 2024 study of traffic across Vercel's network found the crawlers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, ByteDance and Perplexity did not render JavaScript, while Google's Gemini used Googlebot's rendering[10].
Who you let in
For classic search, the decision is simple: let the search engines crawl. With assistants, it becomes several decisions. OpenAI runs OAI-SearchBot for search and GPTBot for training, and says each setting is independent[11]. Anthropic separates ClaudeBot, which collects content that may be used in training, from Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User[12]. Perplexity says PerplexityBot is designed to surface and link websites in its search results, not to crawl content for AI foundation models[13].
What counts as a result
A ranking produces clicks you can count. A quote may be read and never clicked. A mention in a conversation may never reach your analytics at all.
Our own site shows the first split. Before we rebuilt pixelategroup.com in August 2026, the live version added its menu and footer with JavaScript. The raw HTML a crawler received held 12 links and no navigation or footer elements at all. A crawler that runs JavaScript, as Google's does[9], could reach the menu after rendering. One that does not saw orphan pages. Every page now arrives as finished HTML.
OpenAI says a site that blocks its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though it can still appear as a navigational link. Blocking its training crawler, GPTBot, is a separate setting. [11]
Which should a business do first?
The order follows what depends on what, and the first two steps count towards all three.
Make every page readable without JavaScript
Your menu, services and contact details should be in the HTML the server sends, and robots.txt and your host should not block the crawlers you want. Nothing further down this list works on a page a machine cannot read.
Make your business facts match everywhere
Same name, service area, phone and description on your site, your Google Business Profile and every directory, so no system has to guess which business you are.
Fix the SEO basics on the pages that sell
A clear title, one page per service, the suburbs you serve, fast on a phone. Google says its AI features have no additional technical requirements[2], so the same work serves its AI answers and its links.
Rewrite key sections answer-first
Put the answer to each section's question in its first sentence or two, then the detail. A system can only quote a passage on a page it can find, so this comes after step three. The AEO guide goes further.
Make the GEO decisions on purpose
Choose which assistant crawlers to allow, and treat training as a separate question from search; our own robots.txt allows both, as two decisions. Look for accurate mentions of your business on other sites, since Google says its AI features may run several related searches across subtopics and data sources[2]. An llms.txt file is optional: a 2024 proposal[14], not a requirement. The GEO guide covers each one.
Google stopped showing FAQ rich results in its search results from 7 May 2026. In 2023 it had already limited them to well-known, authoritative government and health websites. [15]
The questions and answers themselves did not vanish; only the special display did[15]. Build what all three depend on first, and treat anything tied to one platform's display as a bonus.
How do you measure SEO, AEO and GEO?
SEO is the easiest to measure. Google Search Console's Performance report shows clicks, impressions and average position for your site in Google Search results[1].
AEO is harder. Google says appearances in AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in the overall search traffic in Search Console, under the Web search type[2]. Its Generative AI performance report counts how many times links to your site were shown in those features, though not every property has it yet[3]. To see whose words are quoted, check by hand: search the questions your customers ask and read the answers that come back.
Since February 2026, Microsoft's Bing Webmaster Tools has counted how often your pages are cited as sources in Microsoft Copilot and Bing's AI-generated summaries. Microsoft says the count reflects how often pages are cited, not page importance, ranking or placement. [4]
For the other assistants, ask them. A short monthly routine covers all three:
- Search Console: which queries and pages gained or lost clicks, and the Generative AI performance report if your property has it[3].
- Bing Webmaster Tools: citations and grounding queries in the AI Performance report[4].
- The same five customer questions, asked in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, noting who gets named.
- Your robots.txt: still allowing the crawlers you chose.
- Enquiries: the number that pays the bills.
Or start with the free audit, which checks all three at once. Our SEO page sets out how we handle them.
Questions and answers.
Is AEO the same as GEO?
No, though they overlap. AEO is about a passage from your page being quoted when a system answers a question. GEO is about whether an assistant can find, read and name your business at all. Both play out in Google's AI Overviews and in ChatGPT, which is why they get mixed up.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. Google says that to be eligible for AI Overviews and AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, with no additional technical requirements[2]. Readable pages, clear answers and consistent facts serve all three. GEO adds decisions SEO never needed, such as which assistant crawlers to let in and whether to allow training.
Do I need separate pages for SEO, AEO and GEO?
No. One well-built page can serve all three: a clear title and headings for search, the answer to each question in its opening sentences, and facts that match your Business Profile and structured data. What changes is how you write and check the page, not how many pages you have.
Can anyone promise a place in AI Overviews or ChatGPT?
No. Google says you cannot request a featured snippet[6], and its advice on hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee the top spot in Google[5]. AI Overviews and assistants choose their own sources. What you control is whether they can read your site, what your pages say, and whether your facts agree.
Sources.
- Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup, Google Search Console Help. Read 23 September 2026.
- AI features and your website, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- Generative AI performance report (Search), Google Search Console Help. Read 23 September 2026.
- Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools Public Preview, Microsoft Bing Webmaster Blog. Read 23 September 2026.
- Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- Featured snippets and your website, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- Understand the JavaScript SEO basics, Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
- The rise of the AI crawler (December 2024), Vercel and MERJ. Read 23 September 2026.
- Overview of OpenAI Crawlers, OpenAI. Read 23 September 2026.
- Does Anthropic crawl data from the web, and how can site owners block the crawler?, Anthropic. Read 23 September 2026.
- Perplexity Crawlers, Perplexity. Read 23 September 2026.
- The /llms.txt file (proposal, September 2024), llmstxt.org. Read 23 September 2026.
- Latest Google Search documentation updates (FAQ rich result entries, September 2023, May 2026 and June 2026), Google Search Central. Read 23 September 2026.
See where your site stands on all three.
The free audit runs thirty weighted checks across SEO, AEO and GEO, live against our own site. Enter your website address and the full report for your own site arrives by email, with a fix list in order of what matters most.