AEO

SEO gets you ranked in a list of links, AEO gets you cited as the answer inside AI answer engines, and GEO (generative engine optimisation) is mostly a synonym for AEO. They overlap, and a modern content strategy needs all three.

TL;DR in 60 seconds

• SEO optimises to rank in traditional search results a human clicks.
• AEO optimises to be the cited answer inside engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
• GEO stands for generative engine optimisation and is used interchangeably with AEO by most practitioners.
• The signals overlap heavily: crawlability, credibility, and topical authority feed all three.
• You need all of them, because buyers now research across blue links and answer engines in the same session.

Definitions

• SEO (search engine optimisation). Optimising to rank highly in a list of links on Google or Bing, earning the click. The unit is the page and the reward is traffic.
• AEO (answer engine optimisation). Optimising to be the passage an AI answer engine quotes and attributes to your brand. The unit is the passage and the reward is a citation.
• GEO (generative engine optimisation). The same idea as AEO, framed around generative models. In practice the two terms describe the same work: earning inclusion in machine-generated answers. Some use GEO more broadly for any AI-generated surface, but the tactics are identical.

The comparison

How they overlap

The foundations are shared. An answer engine cannot cite a page its crawler cannot reach, and it rarely quotes a source the open web treats as low-trust. So the technical health and authority SEO has always chased still gate whether a model will pick you.

Where they diverge is structure and intent. SEO tolerates a long, meandering post that eventually ranks. AEO demands a tight, quotable answer near the top, ideally with an FAQ and specific facts a model can lift without paraphrasing risk.

Why you need all three

Buyers no longer choose one surface. A head of growth might ask Perplexity for a shortlist, click a blue link to read a case study, then check reviews a model surfaced from a forum. Skip any layer and you drop out of part of that journey.

By some estimates, answer engines already influence 10-20% of B2B software purchasing decisions, while classic search still drives the bulk of considered research. Treat SEO and AEO as one programme with a shared content estate, measured on both rankings and citations.

FAQ

Is GEO different from AEO?

For practical purposes, no. GEO (generative engine optimisation) and AEO (answer engine optimisation) both describe optimising content to appear in AI-generated answers. The tactics - answer-first structure, fact density, topical authority, third-party mentions - are identical. GEO is occasionally used more broadly, but treat them as synonyms.

Does SEO still matter in 2026?

Yes. Answer engines draw on the same indexed web, so ranking, backlinks, and technical health still determine whether a model can find and trust you. Classic search also drives most considered B2B research today. SEO is the foundation AEO builds on, not a discipline it retires.

Which should I invest in first?

Fix SEO foundations first: crawlability, site health, and a credible link and mention profile. Without them, no engine can cite you. Then layer AEO on top by restructuring key pages to be answer-first and fact-dense. In practice the two run together, since the same content estate serves both.

Can one page work for both SEO and AEO?

Yes, and it should. An answer-first page with a strong quotable summary, an FAQ block, dense facts, and clear headings ranks well in search and extracts cleanly for answer engines. Writing separate pages for each surface wastes effort; one well-structured page serves both audiences at once.

Cadence treats AEO and SEO as one continuous experiment programme, run by agents across your content estate. See what answer engine optimisation is and how to get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity.