GEO

GEO stands for generative engine optimization: the broader practice of improving how generative engines represent, recommend, and cite your brand. Where AEO emphasizes being the answer to a direct question, GEO emphasizes the whole representation, including accuracy and the sources behind it.

In day-to-day work the two overlap almost completely. Both depend on crawlable, well-structured pages and credible external sources. Both are measured by inspecting generated answers and their citations rather than ranking positions.

GEO is often pitched as a replacement for SEO, which is misleading. SEO still determines whether a page can be found and quoted; GEO determines whether the answer names you once the sources are assembled. A GEO tool that shows the verbatim answer and the cited pages is doing the auditable version of the work.