SEO, AEO and GEO target three different results. SEO targets the ranked links on Google. AEO targets the answers that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews give. GEO targets the AI-generated overviews that appear on search results pages. The two overlap on Google AI Overviews, and the sections below say how. All three rely on the same website foundations, so a small business fixes those first and then adds the work that matches how its buyers ask.
These are working definitions, not formal standards, and agencies use the terms differently. AvantScale’s Terms define SEO as improving organic visibility on traditional search engines, AEO as improving the likelihood of being cited by AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and GEO as improving visibility in AI-generated search overviews. The sections below show what each one changes on a page.
What does SEO change on a small business website?
SEO changes how well your pages qualify for Google’s ranked results. The work covers page titles and descriptions, headings, crawlable site structure, page speed, internal links and, for local businesses, a complete Google Business Profile. Each change helps a page match a short query typed by someone who will choose from a list of links.
SEO is measured in Google Search Console: impressions, clicks and average position for named queries and pages. These figures describe what happened on Google over a period. They do not describe what an AI assistant said.
What does AEO change?
AEO changes how clearly your pages answer a full question, so an assistant such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews can name and describe your business. The work is answer-first copy, one verifiable fact per sentence, and the same services, location, hours and contact details on your website, your Google Business Profile and every directory listing.
AEO is measured by testing tracked buying questions on a set date and logging three things per answer: whether your business is named, who is named instead, and whether any stated fact is wrong. Each assistant decides independently what to cite, so the log is a dated record, not a forecast.
What does GEO change?
GEO changes how usable your pages are when a search engine builds an AI-generated overview, such as a Google AI Overview. AvantScale’s Terms also list Google AI Overviews under AEO, so this is where the two overlap: the same page is judged by both. An overview summarizes several sources and links to some of them. Pages that state one fact per passage, use structured data that matches the visible text, and name the business, service and location in plain words are easier for Google to extract from.
GEO is measured by checking, for each tracked question, whether an AI Overview appears and whether your site is cited in it. Overviews appear for some searches and not others, and they can differ by city, so the location used for the check is recorded with the result.
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Where do SEO, AEO and GEO overlap?
The three overlap in four places, and most of a small site’s work sits there:
- Answer-first copy: each section opens with a standalone sentence that answers its heading, which suits ranked snippets, assistants and overviews alike.
- Schema markup: JSON-LD for the organization, services and FAQs, written to match the text a visitor can see on the page.
- Consistent facts: one set of approved business details, repeated exactly on the website, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Indexable pages: a page set to noindex is not eligible to appear in Google’s results or its AI Overviews, so launch settings are checked before any other work is judged.
Because the foundations are shared, a fix such as a corrected address or a clearer service page helps all three results at once. The differences show up in how you measure: Search Console for SEO, tracked questions for AEO, and AI Overview citations for GEO. If you are weighing whether to hire help, read 8 questions to ask an AEO consultant in the Philippines.
Which should a small business start with?
Start with the shared foundations, then add the specialty that matches where your buyers ask. A local service business that wins customers from Google searches and map results usually starts with SEO and local listings. A business whose buyers ask assistants “who can help with this” benefits from first measuring what ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews say today.
A free AvantScale audit does that measurement. It tests 10 of your buying questions across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews and reports where you are named, who is named instead and which facts are wrong. The result tells you which of the three needs attention first. It does not promise any ranking or citation. The consulting and audits page explains how each audit runs, and current audit prices are on the Pricing page.
Small sites rarely need three separate projects. One set of accurate, well-structured pages serves all three, and the baseline test shows where the gaps are before any extra work is scoped.
SEO, AEO and GEO: FAQ
Do I need all three of SEO, AEO and GEO?
Not at the same time. The shared foundations cover most of the early work. Add AEO or GEO tracking when your buyers use assistants or see AI Overviews for your questions, and use a baseline test to confirm that before spending on it.
Does AEO replace SEO?
No. AEO adds a second place to be found. Google’s ranked results still send visitors to your pages, and the same crawlable, accurate pages feed the sources that assistants draw on. The two are measured separately.
How is each one measured?
SEO is measured in Google Search Console by impressions, clicks and average position. AEO is measured by logging, per tracked question and per assistant, whether the business is named, who is named instead and whether a fact is wrong. GEO is measured by whether an AI Overview appears and whether the business is cited.
See which one your business needs first
The free audit runs 10 of your buying questions across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews and shows what each engine says about you. Get your free audit.
