SEO·20 · 08 · 26·5 MIN READ

AEO vs GEO vs SEO: What's the Difference — and What Should You Do First?

It used to be simple: to be found, you did SEO and ranked on Google.

Today a growing share of customers never search at all — they ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude directly and trust the answer AI composes. If your business isn't in that answer, you're invisible.

The three terms

  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — the classic craft: ranking on Google when people search.
  • AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) — getting answer systems (featured snippets, voice assistants, AI answer boxes) to use YOUR answer.
  • GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — getting generative AI like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude to know your business and cite you in responses.

Are AEO and GEO actually different?

In practice the two overlap almost entirely, and the industry uses the names interchangeably — some agencies say AEO, some say GEO. The work behind both is nearly identical, so don't waste time on the naming debate; do the work. At TecTony we deliberately use the pair (AEO / GEO) so we cover every term buyers search.

The checklist that actually works (we build it into every site we ship)

  1. Complete Schema / JSON-LD — Organization, Product, FAQPage, LocalBusiness: your business structure in machine language.
  2. llms.txt — the emerging standard file that tells AI crawlers what matters on your site.
  3. Answer-shaped content — AI lifts content that answers questions directly.
  4. Clear provenance — named authors and organisations get cited; anonymous content doesn't.
  5. Speed and clean structure — classic SEO fundamentals still underpin everything.
  6. Content velocity — a knowledge base that updates continuously is what AI keeps citing.

Why start now

Search behaviour is shifting to AI, and advertising on AI platforms is rolling out globally — Thailand is next. Sites AI can already read are the ad inventory that's ready first. This discipline compounds with time: start earlier, win longer.

Read next: What is an AI-native website? · Want ChatGPT citing your business? Talk to us free or LINE @tectony

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