If you've read about AI search lately, you've probably been told you need an "AEO strategy" and a "GEO strategy" on top of SEO. That sounds like three budgets. In practice, it's one body of work done in a sensible order. The question is where your business should start.
For a plain-English explanation of each term, read What are AEO and GEO? This article is about choosing.
SEO, AEO and GEO side by side
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main question | Can Google find and rank my pages? | Can AI quote my answer? | Will AI recommend my business? |
| Main work | Indexing, page titles, site structure, links | Answer-first writing, question headings, tables, specific facts | Reviews, directories, mentions on other sites, consistent business facts |
| Where results show | Google and Bing results | AI Overviews, AI Mode, featured snippets, voice answers | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot |
| Time to first results | Usually 3–6 months | Weeks after a page is indexed | Days to weeks in tools that search the web; months for built-in AI knowledge |
| How to measure | Search Console clicks and rankings | Whether your pages are cited for target questions | How often AI names you across a fixed question set |
Why the order matters
Each layer depends on the one before it. AI tools that search the web mostly find pages the same way search engines do, so a page Google can't index is unlikely to be quoted. A page that can be found but buries its answer in the fourth paragraph rarely gets cited. And a business that's quoted on its own site but barely mentioned anywhere else is rarely the one AI recommends.
Which one do you need first? Start from your symptoms
| What you see | Start with | First steps |
|---|---|---|
| New site, or key pages missing from Google | SEO | Set up Search Console, check the Pages report, fix indexing, write clear page titles |
| Pages rank, but clicks are falling as AI Overviews answer above you | AEO | Put the answer in the first two sentences, add question headings and tables, so the AI Overview cites you |
| Customers say "ChatGPT recommended your competitor" | GEO | Build reviews and directory profiles, publish comparisons, make your facts consistent everywhere |
| AI describes your business wrongly | GEO | Correct facts on your site, Google Business Profile and directories |
| Not sure | Measure first | Run a 15-minute AI visibility check and look at Search Console |
What to prioritise by type of business
- Local services (clinics, law firms, accountants, trades): your Google Business Profile and reviews come first. They feed local search results and AI recommendations at the same time. Then add service pages that answer price and process questions.
- B2B and SaaS: comparison and "alternatives" pages, a public pricing page and complete profiles on review sites such as G2 and Capterra. AI tools lean heavily on these when answering "best tool for…" questions.
- Online stores: product and category pages with specific details (sizes, materials, who it's for), plus buying guides that answer "which one should I choose?" questions.
- Professional firms with niche expertise: in-depth articles on the specific questions clients ask, with named experts. Expertise is what gets cited.
A simple 90-day plan that covers all three
- Month 1: foundations. Fix indexing issues, set up Search Console, run your first AI visibility check and write down your score.
- Month 2: quotable pages. Rewrite your 5 most important pages answer-first (here's how) and publish 4 articles on your customers' top questions.
- Month 3: recommendations. Complete your profiles, ask happy clients for reviews, publish one comparison page, then repeat the AI check and compare.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying three separate services. SEO, AEO and GEO overlap so much that splitting them across vendors creates duplicated work and conflicting advice.
- Chasing tricks. Hidden text aimed at AI, mass-produced pages or files that promise to "unlock ChatGPT" don't replace useful content, and hidden text can break Google's spam policies.
- Skipping measurement. Without a starting score, you can't tell whether anything worked.
Frequently asked questions
Which is more important in 2026: SEO, AEO or GEO?
SEO, because the other two depend on it. AI tools mostly cite pages that search engines can find and trust. Once your important pages are indexed, AEO and GEO decide whether you're quoted and named in AI answers.
Can I do GEO without SEO?
Partly. Reviews, directory listings and mentions on other sites can get you named even if your own site ranks poorly. But AI tools that search the web still need pages to cite, so weak SEO caps your results.
Do I need different content for SEO, AEO and GEO?
No. One well-structured page can serve all three: it ranks because it answers the search well, it gets quoted because the answer comes first, and it supports recommendations because it states clear facts about your business.
How do I measure GEO?
Ask a fixed set of 10 to 50 customer questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google every month, and count how often your business is named compared with competitors. Keep the questions the same so results are comparable.
Not sure where to start?
Our free 10-day trial starts with an AI visibility audit that shows which of the three needs work first, then we write 3 articles for you.
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