AEO vs GEO vs AIO vs AI SEO: what's the difference?
Mostly the name. AEO, GEO, AIO, AI SEO and LLM SEO all describe getting a business named, cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers. They differ slightly in emphasis, but the work behind them is the same.
How the terms fit together
The simplest way to hold all of these terms is as a hierarchy. AI visibility is the outcome: how often and how accurately AI names you. AI search optimisation is the service that improves it. AEO, GEO, AI SEO, AIO and LLM SEO are overlapping approaches within that service, each with a different emphasis.
| Level | Term | Emphasis | Cited AI service page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | AI visibility | Being named, cited and recommended, accurately | AI visibility |
| Service | AI search optimisation | Optimising for each AI search engine | AI search optimisation |
| Approach | AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) | Your pages as the quotable answer | AEO agency |
| Approach | GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) | How generative AI represents you across the web | GEO agency |
| Approach | AI SEO | SEO adapted for AI answers, alongside classic SEO | AI SEO agency |
| Approach | AIO | AI Optimisation, or Google AI Overviews specifically | AI Overviews guide |
| Approach | LLM SEO | Technical label for optimising for large language models | Glossary |
The terms side by side
Where they differ
The differences are about emphasis, not method. AEO grew out of featured snippets and voice search, so it focuses on being the answer. GEO comes from academic research into generative engines (see the Princeton GEO study) and focuses on how models compose and describe. AIO is used loosely, sometimes for everything and sometimes only for Google AI Overviews. AI SEO is what most business owners type into a search bar.
Where they are the same work
- A clear, consistent entity: name, category, location and description.
- Structured data and technical access for search engines and AI crawlers.
- Answer-ready content built around real customer questions.
- Citations and authority on the sites AI tools trust.
- Measurement of how often you are named, not just where you rank.
How they relate to traditional SEO
All of them build on SEO rather than replacing it. AI tools that search the web still depend on crawlable, trustworthy, well-structured pages. The shift is in the goal (being named in one answer rather than ranking in a list) and in how success is measured. See AEO vs SEO.
Which one do you need?
If an agency offers GEO and another offers AI SEO, compare what they actually do and how they measure it, not the label. We use AI visibility as the umbrella and AEO as the discipline, and our AI search guide ties all of it together.
Frequently asked questions
Are AEO, GEO and AI SEO the same thing?
Largely, yes. They are different names for getting a business named and cited inside AI-generated answers. AEO emphasises being the cited answer, GEO emphasises how generative AI represents you, and AI SEO is the everyday umbrella term.
Which is better, AEO or GEO?
Neither. They describe the same underlying work: entity clarity, structured data, answer-ready content, citations and measurement. Choose a provider on method and measurement rather than the label.
What is LLM SEO?
LLM SEO means optimising content and entity signals so large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude understand, cite and recommend a business. It is another name for AEO, GEO or AI SEO.
Find out if AI recommends you
Get a free AI Visibility Audit of how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI currently describe and cite you.
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