What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
Generative Engine Optimization is the narrower technical practice of getting a business cited inside generative AI responses specifically. Where AEO covers any answer surface, GEO targets the generation step: making sure the model has clean, structured, attributable information about you to draw on.
How it differs from AEO
AEO is the discipline; GEO is the part of it aimed at generative output. Most agencies use the terms interchangeably, which is usually a sign they have not done either.
What it involves
Structured data on every template, factual consistency across the sources a model is likely to have ingested, and content formatted so a specific claim can be lifted and attributed without ambiguity.
Why it matters for your business
Generative answers compress a whole results page into a few named recommendations. GEO is how you get into that list instead of into the part nobody reads.