- The question
- What is the difference between GEO and SEO?
- The short answer
- SEO aims to get your page ranked and clicked in search results. GEO aims to get your content cited inside AI-generated answers. For Google, there is no separate track: Google says optimizing for its generative AI features is still SEO, and that you can ignore llms.txt files and "chunking". Other AI tools are a separate question.
Source: Optimizing your website for generative AI features, Google, A new resource for optimizing your website for generative AI features, Google, Generative AI performance reports, Google, GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, arXiv
TL;DR: SEO aims to get your page ranked and clicked. GEO (generative engine optimization) aims to get your content cited inside AI-generated answers. For Google, there's no separate track: Google says optimizing for its AI features "is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO," and lists llms.txt files and "chunking" as things you can ignore. For ChatGPT, Perplexity and the rest, Google's guidance doesn't apply, so measure them yourself.
A business gets a proposal for "GEO". It includes an llms.txt file, a content rewrite into bite-sized chunks, and a monthly fee.
Google says Search ignores llms.txt and doesn't require chunking. The monthly fee is between you and your budget.
What is GEO, and what is SEO?
SEO (search engine optimization): making pages easy for search engines to crawl, index, and rank, so people find them and click.
GEO (generative engine optimization): making content more likely to be used and cited when an AI system writes an answer. The term comes from a research paper first posted in 2023 and accepted to KDD 2024.
One chases the click. The other chases the citation.
How are GEO and SEO different?
| Comparison | SEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank and earn the click | Get cited in the AI answer |
| Where you show up | A list of links | Inside a written answer, as a source link |
| What you measure | Impressions, clicks, position | Whether you're cited, for which questions |
| Google's view | The foundation | Still SEO, for Google's AI features |
| ChatGPT, Perplexity, others | Their own systems | No official rules this clear; track by hand |
The first three rows and the last row are my framing. The "Google's view" row is sourced.
What does Google say about GEO?
Google announced a guide to optimizing for its generative AI features in May 2026 (last updated July 2026). On GEO and AEO it says: "From Google Search's perspective, optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO."
It explains why. Google's AI features are "rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems" and pull pages from the Search index. To be eligible, a page must be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet.
The same guide has a mythbusting list of things you can ignore for Google Search:
- llms.txt and other "special" markup. Google Search doesn't use them. Creating one "will neither harm nor help" in Google.
- "Chunking" content. There's "no requirement to break your content into tiny pieces."
Google also warns that making separate pages for every variation of a question, mainly to manipulate AI answers, violates its scaled content abuse policy.
What does the GEO research show?
A 2023 study, accepted to KDD 2024, suggests content changes can matter for AI answers. The GEO paper reports its methods can "boost visibility by up to 40%" in generative engine responses, on its own benchmark, and that what works "varies across domains."
Two limits. The result comes from the authors' own benchmark, GEO-bench, and I've read the abstract, not every experiment, so don't assume the 40% carries over to Google or ChatGPT. And "up to" is the best case, not the typical one.
Is GEO replacing SEO?
The GEO paper's abstract opens with the authors' view that generative engines are "rapidly replacing traditional search engines." Google's position is that, inside Google, the AI answers sit on top of Search itself.
My read: for Google, GEO is SEO plus a habit of writing quotable sentences. For other AI tools, nobody has published rules this clear, so track them rather than guess.
What should a small business do?
- Check you're eligible. Per Google's guide, a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, and the site "must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console." Use URL Inspection in Search Console to check indexing, and make sure no
nosnippettag is blocking you. - Keep your business listings current. If you sell products or serve a local area, the guide points to Merchant Center feeds and Google Business Profile as ways to show up in AI responses.
- Write something only you could write. Google's guide calls this "non-commodity" content: first-hand experience, not a rehash of what's already out there.
- Answer the question early, in a sentence that still makes sense quoted alone. This is my habit, not a Google rule.
- Skip the hacks. No llms.txt for Google's sake, no chunking, no 40 near-duplicate pages.
- Use Search Console's generative AI report. Google launched it in June 2026 and says it shows impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country, and device.
- Track other AI tools by hand, as a sample. Pick 5 to 10 questions your buyers ask. Each month, run each one a few times in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, and log it as "cited in 2 of 5 runs" with the date. One answer is an anecdote.
FAQ
Is GEO just SEO with a new name? For Google, yes: Google calls optimizing for its AI features "still SEO." For other AI tools, there's no equivalent official guidance.
Do I need an llms.txt file? Not for Google. Google says Search doesn't use it and it won't help or hurt there. Other services may use it.
Should I break my content into small chunks for AI? Google says there's no requirement to. Organize pages for people: clear sections and headings.
How do I see if my site appears in AI Overviews? Search Console's generative AI performance report shows impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Where did the term GEO come from? The arXiv paper "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," first posted in November 2023 and accepted to KDD 2024.
Should I hire a GEO agency? Ask which Google requirement each deliverable meets. Google's guide suggests reviewing its guidance on evaluating third-party SEO advice first.