Short answer: SEO gets Google to find you and rank you in its list of results; GEO gets ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude to understand you and cite you inside their answers. They do not compete: GEO builds on a solid SEO foundation.
What SEO is and what GEO is
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the set of technical, content and authority work that improves a website’s position in search engines such as Google or Bing. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) works so that generative AI systems include your brand and your content in the answers they give users.
The practical difference is the outcome. In SEO you compete for a position in a list. In GEO you compete to appear as a source inside a text the AI writes, usually next to two or three other sources.
What searches say
Interest is already real. In Google Trends (Spain, last 12 months), “geo vs seo” is one of the most searched related queries alongside “geo seo”, and “seo geo aeo” and “aeo” are among the fastest-rising. People want to know whether they need more than traditional SEO.
Key differences
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Position and clicks from a results list. | Being cited or recommended in an AI answer. |
| Where | Google, Bing and other search engines. | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and the AI answers inside search engines. |
| Unit of work | The page and the keyword. | The entity (who you are) and the answer (what you say). |
| Signals | Technical health, content, links and user experience. | Clarity, structured data, external mentions and verifiable content. |
| Measurement | Rankings, traffic and conversions. | Presence and citations in AI answers, referral traffic and brand mentions. |
What they share
- Crawling and performance: if a page cannot be crawled or loads slowly, neither Google nor AI bots will use it well.
- Useful, original content: answering a real question well works in both worlds.
- Authority: reliable mentions on other sources matter to the search engine and to the AI.
What GEO adds
- A direct answer up front. A 30–60 word paragraph that defines or answers before going into detail.
- A clear entity. Who you are, what you do, for whom and where, in the same words on your site, LinkedIn and listings.
- Structured data. Organization, Service and FAQPage help systems interpret the page without ambiguity.
- Access for AI crawlers. Check your
robots.txt: if you block OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot or PerplexityBot, they will not cite you. - Questions and answers. Question-style subheadings and an FAQ section.
- A summary for models. An
llms.txtfile is a proposed convention; not every engine reads it, but it does no harm.
How to combine them without duplicating work
Start with the common base (crawling, performance, architecture and useful content). Then add the GEO layers on the pages that already rank or that answer high-value questions: services, sectors and guides. Measure both on separate dashboards and do not expect the same timelines: technical changes are crawled in hours or days; reputation and mentions take weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI engines rely on search indexes and crawlers. If your site is not well ranked or crawlable, it will also be hard to get cited.
Can you guarantee appearing in ChatGPT?
No. Nobody controls those algorithms. You work on the signals that depend on you — technical health, content, structure and reputation — and measure progress.
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimisation: optimising so that your content is the direct answer in search engines and assistants. It overlaps with GEO; in practice both call for clear, well-structured answers.
Where do I start?
With an audit that reviews crawling, content and AI signals, and a plan prioritised by impact and effort.
At IGLOBALIA we treat SEO and GEO as a single system. See the SEO and GEO service, read the What is GEO guide or tell us about your project.
