People use three labels for adjacent work. They are not interchangeable.
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the practice of earning visibility in a ranked list of links — still essential for Google Search and for the pages AI engines later retrieve.
AEO (answer engine optimisation) is the older term for optimising content so engines that return a direct answer — featured snippets, voice, now AI chat — can extract it.
AI GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the name we use for the full discipline on generative engines: not only extractable copy, but entity clarity, schema, crawl access, source quality, and measurement across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Claude.
A practical comparison
| Signal | Classic SEO | AEO | AI GEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary output | Ranked links | A snippet or spoken answer | A named brand inside a synthesised answer |
| Core units | Keywords, backlinks, pages | Question/answer blocks | Prompts, entities, citations, sources |
| Success metric | Rank and clicks | Snippet ownership | Mention, citation, correct framing |
| Can you buy it? | Ads exist beside results | Rarely | No ads inside the answer |
What to keep from SEO
Technical health, canonicals, sitemaps, original reporting, and internal links still matter. Generative engines retrieve pages. A site that is uncrawlable or contradictory will not become the cited source.
What SEO agencies often miss
Rankings do not automatically transfer into AI answers. A page can rank and still be ignored if it buries the answer, lacks an entity, or is weaker than a competitor’s glossary or FAQ. Trackers that only measure AI mentions also miss the work: diagnosis, content, schema and an assigned team.
Optimizer360.ai is built for the GEO layer. Keep your SEO stack; add GEO for the answer. Read the capability comparison.