What is SEO called for AI?

SEO for AI is most commonly called generative engine optimization, shortened to GEO. Researchers at Princeton coined the term in a 2023 paper studying how to make content more likely to be cited by generative search tools, and marketers adopted it quickly afterward.

You will also hear answer engine optimization, AEO, used for the same general idea, especially by people focused on tools like Perplexity that present themselves as answer engines rather than assistants. A few writers use the umbrella term AIO, AI optimization, loosely.

None of these names are officially standardized by any single body, so expect the terminology to keep shifting for another year or two as the practice matures.

Whatever you call it, GEO softwaremeasures the same underlying citation signals.