Generative engine optimisation (GEO)

The industry has not settled on one name yet, so you will meet GEO, AEO, AI SEO, LLM SEO and AI visibility optimisation used almost interchangeably, with GEO more common in American writing and AEO gaining ground in the UK. What matters is not the label but what the work actually involves: measuring how AI engines answer your buyers' questions, understanding which sources those engines cite, and systematically improving your presence in both. When you compare tools or agencies, look past which acronym they use and ask what they measure and what they change. Be wary of any vendor who cannot show you the actual answers their metrics are built on. We use AEO throughout this site, and this glossary, because the target is the answer a buyer hears. The difference from traditional SEO: SEO optimises a page to rank in a list of links a buyer clicks, while GEO optimises your information so an assistant names and cites you inside the answer it writes, so the measurements become mention rate, citation rate, share of voice and sentiment rather than rankings, and unlinked mentions on the sources engines cite matter as much as backlinks. What that means for a mid-market B2B team is worked through in the guide below.