What is the difference between SEO, AEO, and GEO?
Updated August 2026
SEO gets your page found and ranked. AEO gets your content shown as the single direct answer, like a featured snippet. GEO gets you cited as one of the sources an AI uses to build a synthesized answer. They are not the same, and they build on each other rather than replacing each other.
Picture a library. SEO is getting your book on the shelf. AEO is the librarian opening your book and reading the one exact answer aloud. GEO is the librarian reading a whole stack, writing a briefing in their own words, and crediting the sources they used. SEO is being found, AEO is being the answer, GEO is being built into the answer.
The terms are still settling, so definitions vary. Being the single answer is not automatically better than being one cited source: the single-answer slot is won and lost constantly and often produces no click, while being cited repeatedly as a trusted source compounds.
Ranking and being cited are related but not identical. Most AI Overview citations do come from pages already ranking in the top organic results, so strong SEO helps, but ranking first is neither required nor a guarantee: you can rank first and never be cited, or be cited without ranking first. The two are distinct outcomes worth pursuing together.