What is the difference between LLM SEO and AEO?

LLM SEO and AEO describe closely related goals with slightly different framing. LLM SEO usually refers narrowly to getting cited inside large language model chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, focusing on how those specific models retrieve and quote web content.

AEO, answer engine optimization, is the broader term, covering any tool built to hand back a direct answer, including voice assistants and dedicated answer engines like Perplexity, not just chatbots. In practice the two terms are used loosely and interchangeably by most marketers.

Neither has an official standards body defining it, so expect the exact boundaries to keep shifting as more AI search products launch.

Our generative engine optimization softwarecovers both without making you pick a lane.