AEO vs. GEO vs. SEO
AEO is the right name for AI answer work
Ask AI which shoe to buy, then ask it to draw that shoe. Same brand, two different jobs.
Use AEO for written answers. Reserve GEO for the brand images and video that AI creates.
GEO also gets used for text answers. That blurs two jobs with different goals. The name should tell you what to check.
AEO: what AI says about your brand
AEO means answer engine optimization. An answer engine is an AI tool that answers questions in words.
Start with a question a buyer would ask. Check whether AI recommends your brand and gets the facts right. Make your website's facts clear, then check the answer again.
AI can recommend a rival before a buyer sees your site. AEO checks that moment of choice.
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A buyer asks AI
"Which trail shoes should I buy?"
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AI writes an answer
It may name a few shoe brands.
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Check the answer
Does it name your brand and get the facts right?
GEO: how AI shows your brand
GEO means generative engine optimization. Reserve it for how AI creates brand images and video.
Start with your brand's real images and designs. Compare the shoe, logo, and colors with what AI makes. In a video, those details need to stay right as the scene moves.
Take Pikachu. AEO checks the facts in an answer about the character. GEO checks its look in AI images and video.
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A creator asks AI
"Show our trail shoe in a forest."
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AI makes an image
It creates a picture from the request.
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Check the image
Are the shoe, logo, and colors right?
SEO: help people find your website
SEO means search engine optimization. It helps your pages show up when people search for what you sell.
Clear page titles, helpful content, and pages that search engines can read all support this work.
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A buyer searches
"Trail shoes for wet paths"
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Search shows links
Your page may appear in the results.
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A buyer visits
They open your page to learn more.
Different work needs different tests
GEO is too broad a name for AI answer work. AI can make words as well as images. "Generative" tells you how content is made. "Answer" tells you what the buyer gets.
Counting brand mentions won't catch a wrong logo. Checking a logo won't tell you which brand AI recommends. The checks and fixes are different.
One model can write an answer and make an image. That does not make them the same job.
Ask for the right proof
- For AEO, ask for the buyer question and the exact AI answer.
- For GEO, ask to see generated images or video beside your real brand assets.
- For SEO, ask which pages show up in search and bring people to your site.
What In The Answer checks
We check written AI answers. See which brands get named and what your business can fix.