What is the difference between SEO, GEO, and AEO?

SEO, GEO, and AEO each target a different result. SEO ranks a page in Google's blue links. GEO, generative engine optimization, gets a page cited or paraphrased inside a generative AI answer such as an AI Overview or a ChatGPT response.

AEO, answer engine optimization, overlaps heavily with GEO but is usually framed around answer engines specifically, tools like Perplexity that exist to hand back a direct answer with sources rather than a list of links. Some practitioners use GEO and AEO interchangeably; others treat AEO as the older term that predates the current wave of chatbot search.

The practical difference rarely matters day to day. All three reward clear answers, credible sourcing, and content structured so a machine, human, or search algorithm can find the point fast.

Our generative engine optimization softwarecovers all three at once instead of forcing a choice.