SEO, GEO and AEO: Being Found on Google, in AI Answers and in Voice Search
Your customers now look for you in three different places: Google's list of results, Google's answer boxes and voice assistants, and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Showing up in each of them has its own name: SEO, AEO and GEO. Below I explain the differences in one table, and when you need which.
Services
What I do in this area
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Technical SEO, pages planned around real searches, local SEO and monthly reports; ranking higher for the right searches.
DetailsGEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
So that your name is mentioned and cited in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews.
DetailsAEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
To be shown as the answer in Google's featured snippet, "People also ask" boxes and voice assistants.
DetailsWhat's the difference between SEO, GEO and AEO?
All three have the same goal: when someone searches for or asks about something related to your business, they find you. The difference is where the answer appears and in what form.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Search Engine Optimization | Answer Engine Optimization | Generative Engine Optimization |
| Where do you show up? | Google and Bing results, Google Maps | Google's featured snippet, "People also ask" boxes, voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode |
| What is the user doing? | Typing a few words and clicking on results | Asking a question and expecting one short answer | Asking a long question or chatting; the AI writes the answer itself from many sources |
| Goal | Ranking high and getting clicks | Being shown or read out as the answer to the question | Being mentioned, cited as a source, or recommended in the AI's answer |
| How is it measured? | Rankings, impressions, clicks, organic visitors | Appearing in snippets and question boxes, question-style queries in Search Console | Mentions and citations in AI answers; visitors from sites like chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai |
| What works? | Technical setup, pages written for real searches, internal links, speed, links from other sites | Question-and-answer structure, a clear answer in the first sentence, FAQs, structured data | Clear, quotable facts, numbers and sources, consistent brand information everywhere, being mentioned on other sites, a site AI bots can access |
Each one in brief
SEO: being found on Google
SEO is the work of getting your site to appear high up for the right searches on Google. It comes down to a fast, well-built site, pages written for what customers actually type, and trust earned over time. It's the foundation for the other two.
AEO: being the answer
AEO is the work of making sure that when someone asks "how long does it take to build a website?", the single answer Google or a voice assistant gives comes from your site. Most of it is turning the question into a heading with a short, clear answer underneath, organising your FAQs and adding structured data to the page.
GEO: being the name the AI recommends
GEO is the work of getting your name into the answer when someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini "can you recommend a good architecture office in Istanbul?". The AI doesn't show ten links; it names a few businesses and cites a few sites. To be one of those few, your site has to be readable, quotable and trustworthy for the AI.
They don't replace each other, they stack
An analogy: SEO is your book sitting on the right shelf in the library. AEO is the librarian reading the answer from your book when someone asks a question. GEO is a consultant giving your name when someone asks "who should I go to for this?".
- SEO is the foundation. When AI assistants write answers, they rely heavily on search engine indexes and pages they collect from the web. A page Google can't find is usually one the AI can't find either.
- AEO adds answer structure on top of SEO. A well-written question and answer can end up both in Google's answer box and in an AI's answer.
- GEO adds brand trust on top of that. The AI doesn't only know you from your site; it also knows you from reviews, directories, news and forums.
That's why I plan all three together instead of selling them separately; most of the work is shared.
Which one should you prioritise?
- If your site is new or you don't show up on Google at all: the SEO foundation first. Until the technical problems are fixed, the other two won't work.
- If your customers ask you a lot of questions (clinics, lawyers, education, technical products, service prices): AEO. Answering those questions on your site gets you into answer boxes and cuts down the same questions on WhatsApp.
- If people compare you by asking "which is the best X?" (software, B2B services, tourism, e-commerce, architecture and design offices): GEO. These questions are increasingly asked to AI.
How we work
- Visibility check (free first look). I check which searches you show up for on Google. I ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Mode questions about your industry and note whether you're mentioned, and if not, who is.
- Report and plan. Technical fixes, pages to write and pages to edit, in one list, in order of priority.
- Implementation. On sites I built, I make the changes directly. If your site runs on another platform, I do what I can and give your team a clear task list for the rest.
- Follow-up. A short monthly report: impressions and clicks on Google, mentions in AI answers, visitors from AI sites.
What I can't promise
Nobody can promise "number one on Google in a month". Nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend you either; AI answers change with the person, the question and the day. What I can promise is this: your site becomes clear, quotable and trustworthy for Google and for AI. That raises your chances in a way you can measure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SEO, GEO and AEO?
SEO is about ranking high in Google's list of results. AEO is about being the single answer shown in Google's answer boxes or read out by voice assistants. GEO is about being mentioned and cited in AI answers such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. All three rest on the same foundation: a fast, clear and trustworthy site.
Is SEO dead? Do I only need GEO now?
No. When AI assistants write answers, they rely heavily on pages that search engines find. A site with weak SEO usually stays weak in AI answers too. GEO comes on top of SEO, not instead of it.
Are GEO and AEO the same thing?
They're close but not the same. AEO focuses on being the one short answer to one question (featured snippets, voice assistants). GEO focuses on being mentioned and recommended in the longer answers an AI writes from many sources; brand trust and being mentioned on other sites matter more there.
When will I see results?
With SEO, meaningful results usually take 3–6 months, longer in competitive fields. With AEO, getting into answer boxes takes from a few weeks to a few months after the page is edited. With GEO, AIs that search the web to answer (ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Google AI Mode) can reflect changes within weeks; getting into the model's own knowledge takes months.
How is the price set?
I work in two ways: a one-off check and fix, or monthly follow-up. It depends on the size of the site, the competition and how much content needs writing. You get a clear price after a short first look.
You didn't build my site. Can we still work together?
Yes. I can review and plan for any site, whether it's WordPress, Wix, Shopify or custom-built. For the implementation I do as much as the platform allows and give your team or developer a clear task list for the rest.
Have you applied this to this site?
Yes. Every service page on this site has Service, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList structured data, FAQ sections written from real questions, hreflang tags linking the Turkish and English versions, and a sitemap that updates itself.