SEO vs AEO vs GEO: the three ways people find you now
Search used to mean one thing. Now it splits into three surfaces, each with its own rules. Here is what each one is and when it matters.
For twenty years, showing up online meant one thing: ranking in Google. That is no longer the whole picture. The same question can now be answered in three different places, and each rewards different work. The three go by SEO, AEO, and GEO.
SEO: search engines
Search engine optimization is the classic version. People type a query into Google or Bing, get a list of links, and click one. SEO is the work of ranking in that list through useful content, a clean technical setup, and links from other sites that vouch for you. It still drives a large share of traffic, and it is not going away.
AEO: answer engines
Answer engine optimization is about the answers that appear before the links. A featured snippet, a "People Also Ask" box, an AI Overview at the top of Google, a knowledge panel on the side. The person often gets what they need without clicking anything. AEO is the work of being the source those answers are built from, which usually means writing clear, direct answers to real questions.
GEO: generative engines
Generative engine optimization is the newest of the three. Ask ChatGPT or Perplexity for a recommendation and an AI writes a reply that names a few businesses. GEO is the work of being one of the names it cites. It depends less on ranking a single page and more on what the model has read about you across the whole web. Most tools still do not measure it.
Which one should you focus on?
You do not get to pick just one, because your customers use all three, often in the same afternoon. But the right emphasis depends on where you are losing people:
- If you rank well but traffic is sliding, answer engines are probably taking the click. Focus on AEO.
- If buyers say they "heard about you" but you cannot trace where, AI recommendations may be involved. Focus on GEO.
- If you are new or hard to find at all, the fundamentals of SEO still come first.
The practical move is to measure all three at once so you know which surface is actually costing you customers. That is the single number-plus-plan Worth Citing is built to give you.
See where you stand
Worth Citing runs this check for you: it asks the major AI models about your brand and hands back three scores and a prioritized action plan.