Wondering About The Differences Between GEO And SEO?
The quick answer is:
- GEO is reputation. SEO is presentation.
- GEO is what they say. SEO is what you show.
- GEO is earned. SEO is engineered.
It’s all a matter of visibility, so here’s a deeper dive …
What does GEO stand for?
GEO means Generative Engine Optimisation.
GEO is what others are saying about you. In other words, what’s being generated on the Internet. As a copywriter, I think of GEO as the story being told about me.
What does SEO stand for?
SEO means Search Engine Optimisation.
SEO is what you’re saying about yourself. In other words, how you optimise your web pages to be discovered. As a copywriter, I think of SEO as the story I write about myself.
And it’s now becoming more and more important to be seen by both.
How does SEO work?
SEO drives traffic coming from search engines, like Google and Microsoft Bing, to your website. However, it’s important to understand that search engines don’t rank a website as a whole; they rank each individual page. That’s why having fresh, beautifully written copy with keywords and longtail phrases woven in seamlessly is so essential (big plug for me here).
It’s also important to realise that having a high ranking page doesn’t just come about because of good quality optimised content. There are lots of other factors at play, such as getting good backlinks, improving your site structure and user experience, keeping your Google Business listing updated, and so on – even how long you’ve had your website for.
How does GEO work?
AI-driven search engines such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity AI, Andi Search and Brave Search use advanced algorithms to gather and present information.
AI doesn’t read your copy in the same way that you do as a human being, but examines the content’s context, relevance and quality.
Answers with cited or referenced are provided in one considered go, rather than showing a bunch of website links to click for the info you need – which is what happens with SEO.
How can you optimise your website for AI overviews?
You need to make sure you’re being seen in AI-generated results.
Is your content is clear, well structured, good quality, shows expertise and/or has information that AI can verify and is easy for AI to digest? All of that will help you be found and shown.
For instance:
- Use clear headings and short paragraphs so that AI can easily grab bite-size answers.
- Include visuals, tables, infographics and bullet points as AI pulls from a variety of formats and these structured forms of content are easy to scan.
- Add a summary such as a list of contents or key messages, which can be quickly referenced.
- Add schema markup (describing what your data actually means) to your HTML code so that data is structured and easily understood by generative engines that scrape, summarise, synthesise and serve up.
How do you measure SEO and GEO success?
For SEO, it’s about tracking organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, click-through rates (CTR), bounce rates, and good backlinks.
For GEO, it’s about monitoring how – and how often – AI tools include you in the answers they generate.
A good starting point is to type a question about you or your website into ChatGPT to see what’s being said about you and where, and if the sources are accurate and up-to date.
Next step is to take a deeper dive into your AI visibility score and effectiveness of your citation sources by using tools such as Semrushand Ubersuggest
Is GEO the new SEO?
‘Is SEO becoming obsolete?’ you may be wondering.
The shift from SEO to GEO is a huge one and being competitive has never been more important. Over years, we’ve seen a change from how results are displayed: organic blue links and snippets, paid ads, featured snippets etc, and now that all important top of the page – the crown jewel of an area – is showcasing what AI-powered search engines are citing. They’re telling the world just how trusted, expert and brilliant you are.
Research in 2025 by Bain & Company found that 80% of consumers rely on AI summaries 40% of the time, reducing traditional organic web traffic by as much as 25%. They conclude that ‘Search engine optimisation will not be enough for brands looking to succeed in this new reality’. seo sherpa also reports that, in 2025, 58-60% of Google searches are zero-click, meaning that people are happily finding just what they need without having to click on links to search further.
Right now – and who knows what may happen in the future – GEO is the engine but SEO is the turbo boost. They complement one another in a marketing strategy but your SEO needs to be working hard for you already.
A final word on GEO vs SEO
Good SEO and GEO have one thing in common: fresh, quality copywriting with an authentic tone of voice.
And you won’t get that using ChatGPT …