AEO vs GEO: A Clear Guide for Marketers Who Are Fed Up with Acronyms - ProperExpression

Tired of logging onto LinkedIn and being told your brand is going to disappear in 14 seconds if you don’t start doing these five GEO hacks?

AI Search is one of the biggest stories in digital marketing—and it really will change how brands get found online. But for most marketers, the onslaught of new acronyms and “best practices” is like a fog that makes it hard to see what’s really going on.

This article will help you finally stop second-guessing yourself and understand what’s really going on with AI Search. Based on our internal research and reliable external sources, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about GEO and AEO.

AI Search 101: Understanding Marketing’s Latest Acronym Explosion

AEO vs. GEO: What’s the Difference?

The standard definitions are as follows:

• Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): Drives visibility within direct answers and feature search formats
• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Drives brand and content inclusion within AI-generated responses

But if those two descriptions sound suspiciously similar—you’re not going crazy. The reality is AEO and GEO are really just two terms for the same basic principle: optimizing your content to appear in AI Overviews (AIOs) and Chatbot responses. 

The real giveaway should be that almost no brand would want one without the other. For 99% of companies, the goal is simply to be featured in AI-generated answers, build their online visibility, drive organic traffic, and influence purchasing decisions. 

They don’t need complicated strategies or two different experts to handle GEO and AEO. What they need is a clear, reliable strategy that will help them navigate the rapid transformation and fragmentation of the online search landscape.

Why AI Search Matters

AIOs and Chatbots are changing how buyers find information, research purchases, and evaluate vendors. 

Google’s search market share dipped below 90% for the first time in a decade last year. Consumers see how platforms like ChatGPT enable more responsive, conversational search—and often find these comprehensive, synthesised answers more useful and easier to navigate than a series of website links and paid search ads.

AEO and GEO are therefore increasingly important to:

• Future-Proof Search: Some experts argue that Chatbots will drive 87% of search traffic by 2029—meaning companies that fail to use AEO/GEO will become increasingly invisible online.

• Navigate Complex Journeys: AI has created a more fragmented search landscape; buyers might use Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity across a single purchasing journey. So while brands used to rely on SEO to drive online visibility, they must now contend with multiple different search engines—all of which reward subtly different factors.

• Build Trust: Roughly 30% of Americans trust ChatGPT more than Google. Even if Chatbots never fully unseat traditional search as the primary source of information, they might still drive more qualified traffic or confer more authority on companies that appear in their results.

But the important point is simple: these benefits are not dependent on “choosing” between AEO and GEO.

Even if you take the subtle distinctions between the two areas seriously, these are still emerging fields. And almost all of the best practices for AEO and GEO are exactly the same.

Emerging Best Practices for GEO and AEO

Look past the confusing acronyms at AI Search is actually relatively straightforward. “AI Search is more like an evolution than a disruption,” explains Vivian Rossetto, Search specialist at ProperExpression. “It’s all still about high-quality content that gives your target audience the information they’re looking for.”

Ultimately, she recommends companies focus on a few key factors to improve AI Search visibility:

• Clear Structure: Use clear content structures that are easy for AI engines to parse and turn into snippets, such as FAQs, grids, and short sections with clear headers
• Authority Signals: While Google gives precedence to established companies, Chatbots look for the authority of information itself. Include reliable external sources, ensure your writing is authoritative, and include authors’ credentials to signal that your information is reliable and accurate.
• Search Relevance:  Chatbots prompt longer, more detailed inquiries—meaning keyword length and volume are both higher. Identify a robust cluster of topics that are relevant to your ideal audience and build content that answers highly relevant questions.

GEO vs AEO: What Marketing Leaders Should Know

LinkedIn “thought leaders” love to catastrophize about the End of Organic Search—but this really is mostly smoke and mirrors. Viviane believes 

• Your SEO program is not “obsolete”: Roughly half of all pages that appear on page one of Google also regularly appear in Chatbot responses.
• You probably don’t need GEO and AEO services: Marketers might benefit from selling you AEO and GEO services, but if their primary focus is helping you generate ROI, they’ll be honest: these two things are almost exactly the same.
• Your budget doesn’t need to increase: AI Search and SEO can be supported by the same tactics. In fact, ProperExpression has developed a Visibility Package that caters to both SEO and AI Search to future-proof online visibility without adding complexity or financial burden.

Want to explore how our experts can help you improve rankings across AI and traditional search?