More and more people search through AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews, instead of a traditional list of ten blue links. This is changing what it means to "rank at the top of search" — and calls for an approach that complements traditional SEO.
What Is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO is the set of practices that help a site's content be found, understood and cited by generative AI-powered search engines. Unlike traditional Google, which returns a list of pages, these systems synthesise an answer from multiple sources — and choose to cite the pages they consider clearest, most authoritative and factually dense.
What Is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?
AEO focuses on formatting content to answer specific questions directly — the ideal format for featured snippets, "People also ask" boxes and voice answers. A page optimised for AEO answers the main question in a short, direct paragraph right after the heading, instead of forcing the reader to scroll through the whole page to find the answer.
How Do AI Engines Choose What to Cite?
- Entity clarity — the site clearly states who it is (name, brand, specialty) consistently.
- Factual density — the content includes specific facts, data or explanations, not just generic marketing copy.
- Structured data — schema.org markup (Organization, FAQPage, Article) helps machines interpret the content correctly.
- Trust signals (E-E-A-T) — identifiable authorship, real credentials and transparency about who wrote the content.
Where Should You Start?
The good news is that much of the work behind GEO and AEO also strengthens traditional SEO: clear, well-structured content with real data and correct schema markup helps in both worlds. The simplest starting point is to review your site's most important pages and ask: "if an AI engine only read this paragraph, would it have a clear, citable answer?"