When I tell SEO friends I'm working on "Generative Engine Optimization," I get one of two reactions:
- "So it's just SEO for AI?" (It's not.)
- "That's not a real thing." (It is, and it's eating their lunch.)
Let me break down what's actually different—because the nuances matter more than you'd think.
The Fundamental Difference
SEO is about ranking. You optimize for position 1, 2, 3 in a list of results.
GEO is about inclusion. You optimize to be mentioned at all in a conversational response.
This seems subtle but it changes everything about your strategy.
In SEO, if you're position 11 (top of page 2), you're invisible. But you're still indexed. Keep working and you'll climb.
In GEO, if you're not mentioned, you don't exist in that conversation. There's no page 2. The AI made a decision about who to recommend and you weren't on the list.
What Transfers From SEO (And What Doesn't)
Transfers:
- Understanding search intent
- Creating authoritative content
- Building credible backlinks (they still help AI find and trust you)
- Technical site health
Doesn't transfer:
- Keyword density optimization
- Meta tag obsession
- Exact match domains
- Link schemes (AI models are trained to recognize manipulation)
New skills needed:
- Entity recognition optimization
- Cross-platform message consistency
- Third-party citation building
- AI response monitoring
The Metrics Are Completely Different
In SEO, I tracked:
- Keyword rankings
- Organic traffic
- Click-through rates
- Backlink velocity
In GEO, I track:
- Visibility score (how often the brand appears)
- Share of voice (vs competitors in the same space)
- Sentiment (what tone AI uses when mentioning the brand)
- Citation sources (where AI gets its information)
The SEO metrics tell you how visible you are in search results.
The GEO metrics tell you how an AI perceives and represents your brand.
Why You Need Both
Here's the thing: people still Google. A lot. SEO isn't dying.
But there's a growing segment—especially younger users and B2B researchers—who ask AI directly. If you're only optimizing for Google, you're missing them.
The smartest brands are running parallel strategies:
- SEO for traditional search traffic
- GEO for AI-assisted discovery
The good news? Some tactics help both. Authoritative content and genuine backlinks improve your standing everywhere.
Where to Start If You're an SEO Person
Check your AI visibility first. You might be fine. Or you might discover your biggest competitor dominates AI recommendations while you've been fighting them in Google.
Audit your positioning clarity. AI models need to categorize you. Is your positioning crystal clear or corporate-vague?
Look at your third-party mentions. Not just backlinks—actual mentions. Reviews, comparisons, expert recommendations. These seem to carry serious weight.
Start monitoring. This is new territory. The landscape changes monthly as models update. You need visibility into what's happening.
The transition isn't as hard as it seems. Many SEO fundamentals still apply. You're just optimizing for a different type of algorithm—one that converses instead of ranks.
Originally published on GeoBuddy Blog.
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