GEO vs SEO: What's the Difference, and Do You Need Both?

SEO (search engine optimization) gets your pages ranked in Google's list of links. GEO (generative engine optimization) gets your business named in the answers AI tools write, like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. Most of the work is the same; the differences are in what you measure and in a few things GEO leans on more.

If you're wondering whether you need to start over for AI: you don't. Good SEO is most of the foundation. Here's what carries over, what's new, and where to start.

What is SEO?

SEO is the work of getting your website to show up high in search results when people search for what you sell. It covers your pages (what they say and how they're built), your Google Business Profile and listings for local searches, and links from other websites that vouch for you. You measure it in rankings, clicks and the calls and sales those clicks bring.

What is GEO?

GEO is the work of getting your business mentioned, recommended and cited when people ask AI tools a question instead of searching. The name comes from a 2023 research paper on making content more likely to appear in AI-written answers. You'll also see it called AI SEO, answer engine optimization (AEO) or LLM SEO; they all mean roughly the same thing.

GEO vs SEO at a glance

• The result. SEO aims for a high spot in a list of links. GEO aims to be named inside one written answer.
• How you measure it. SEO has rankings and clicks. GEO has how often you're named across many repeated questions, because AI answers change from one ask to the next.
• Where the answer comes from. SEO is mostly about your own pages. GEO leans more on what other websites say about you: directories, review sites, best-of lists and forums.
• The question. SEO targets short searches like “furnace repair des moines”. GEO targets the longer questions people ask AI, like “who can fix my furnace today in Des Moines, and roughly what will it cost?”
• The click. A good ranking sends clicks. An AI answer often doesn't: the person may call you, or search your name, without ever visiting the page that got you recommended.

What GEO and SEO have in common

AI tools often search the web before they answer, and they read the same websites Google does. So the basics help both:

• A website search engines and AI crawlers are allowed to read.
• Pages that clearly say what you do, where and for whom.
• The same business name, address and phone number everywhere you're listed.
• A complete Google Business Profile.
• Recent, genuine reviews, with replies.
• Links and mentions from other trusted websites.
• Structured data that labels your business, services and FAQs.

What GEO adds

1. Open with the answer. AI quotes sentences that make sense on their own, so the first sentence or two of each page and section should answer the question directly, before the background.
2. Get mentioned where AI looks. Ask AI the questions your customers ask and note the sites it cites. If a directory or best-of list names your competitors but not you, that's your next listing.
3. Check what AI says about you. AI can repeat an old phone number, a service you dropped or an area you don't cover. Fix it at the source it came from.
4. Let the AI crawlers in. OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot read pages for answers. A blocked crawler means that assistant can't cite you.
5. Measure a rate, not a rank. Ask the same questions every week, several times each, and track how often you're named.

Do you need both?

Yes, and for most small businesses it's one job, not two. Google still sends most of the clicks, and AI answers draw on much of the same information. If you only have time for one thing this month, fix what helps both: your Google Business Profile, your main service pages and your reviews.

How Groow does it

Groow does SEO and GEO in one weekly routine: it checks your Google rankings and asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI the questions your customers ask, then drafts the fixes for both. On Plus you approve them; on Growth our team does the work for you.