Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) & AI Optimization (AIO) vs SEO, Explained CLEARLY

AI Optimization is the future of online visibility: Here's how to adapt ‼

It is finally time to explain all these acronyms clearly, so that everyone can understand.

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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) vs AI Optimization (AIO)

• GEO: Optimizing content for being cited in AI answers as references (as well as to rank in AI search engines, like GPT search and Perplexity)

• AIO: Manufacturing brand visibility and relevance to be surfaced in AI answers themselves, as part of the solution

SEO, up to this moment, has been optimizing for just about anything, so I’d say it’s all of the above :)

For now, until I change my mind, I am using the above differentiation for those three acronyms.

Side note: I am launching GEO / AI Optimization services. I will be personally managing first clients (before I define a good system to delegate), so jump in before I am too booked.

These are two different technologies, and different optimization strategies (more on both below). But all the GEO and AIO tactics are not exactly new to SEO, and moreover all of these tactics help organic (traditional) search visibility too.

Here’s a quick breakdown of these two technologies and strategies:

Now let’s dig deeper into which tactics both of these involve:

AI Optimization (AIO): Clear Brand Differentiation

Before we start here, make sure you read two of my previous episodes as they are directly relevant here:

• Differentiate Your Brand to Become a Destination

• Google's AI Mode & SEO, Demystified (No Buzzwords)

Now, let’s cover the basics:

• AI doesn’t keep URLs

• AI operates on training data that is organized by similarity. And the most important thing:

Who often appears in a similar context, shapes the space.

Now that we are done with fundamental stuff, here’s a GREAT reading if you want to get more into technical stuff. It is in German but Google Translate does a great job translating it: How does Google Gemini decide which websites or brands appear in the answers? By @Hanns Kronenberg

The more often your brand name occurs in the training data and the more relevant the context, the higher its statistical presence. The higher the chances it will come up in AI answers.

Let’s look at an example.

• Example prompt: “I need comfortable shoes, but I want to try them out”

• AI is going through its training data to find:

  • Shoe retailers

  • Convenient free shipping

  • “Try before you buy” offers

If a brand combines all these concepts in enough contexts, it will be picked to be included in the AI answer.

This brand needs clear semantic dominance with exactly framed needs.

“Clear” is actually key here. If a brand always have different properties around different contexts, AI will be confused. Your brand may be mentioned around the web more than your competitor’s but your competitor may still be in more answers if it has clear and consistent value proposition, even in fewer contexts.

Brands that often occur in specific problem-solution contexts automatically gain semantic market power.

So what’s included in AI Optimization strategy?

• Semantic presence: Your brand needs to appear in more relevant contexts

• Precise and clear product/brand positioning is a competitive advantage. You need to be systematically present in relevant contexts. Anyone who is clearly anchored in the model will be called earlier.

• Unclearity/ambiguity creates friction: Being good at many things can only work for the biggest brands (Amazon) that appear in lots of relevant problem-solving contexts. Otherwise, trying to appear in many different searches will just blur your brand’s significance and decrease the number of answers you appear in.

Where to start?

• Formulate your clear value proposition and define which specific needs your brand is serving / which problems you are solving

• Analyze your current digital footprint. These ChatGPT tools will help.

• Start creating, marketing and syndicating brand knowledge content to position your brand more effectively and clearly. Keep an eye on:

  • Your UGC footprint (customer reviews and Reddit discussions)

  • Your co-citation (brands you are/aren’t listed with)

  • Your brand-vs-competitor comparisons

Brand visibility is great for many forms of marketing (and has been important for SEO for years), but for AI, clear positioning in a relevant context does the magic.

Our brand marketing services do exactly what I was talking about here.

GEO: Content Clarity & Structure

Providing citation is a separate step in the AI process. In some cases, when questions are about "timeless info, fundamental concepts, or general knowledge", LLMs won’t provide any, because this step is very resourceful for them. Read another article by Hans on how Claudia selects prompts that require references.

For your page to be linked from AI answers, your content needs:

• To be relevant;

• Use question-answer format (with questions as subheadings and answers immediately following questions). This is very similar to featured snippet optimization. This makes your answers easily quotable;

• To be very clearly worded (no fluff or vague wording);

• To be very factual;

• And to be not easy to summarize to require a link. I did an separate article on content types that will more likely require a link and a click. These include:

  • Detailed instructions with videos and images (targeting “DO” queries)

  • Unique research and visualizations (Data-driven PR which also attracts links and brand mentions)

  • Interactive tools, etc.

Backlinks are also important for two reasons:

• AI platforms use traditional search engines to find URLs (both Google index and Bing index - both of these search engines rely on backlinks as ranking signals)

• Gemini (and conversely GPT search) use links for understanding authority)

Keyword research is still important but a bit different

Don’t forget that keyword optimization is not as straightforward these days as it used to be for SEO. AI utilizes a “fan-out” technique to try and guess what else users may need to solve their problems and make more informed decisions.

Where AI is going to “fan out” with its logic is a guess game but you can use:

• Google search (and pay attention to People Also Ask sections, related searches and “people also search”);

• Semantic research (Buzzsumo is great for that);

• Your own knowledge of your audience and their needs.

So Where is SEO Going?

Image credit @Gianluca Fiorelli

At its core SEO started to facilitate relationships between humand and machines.

And that is not changing.

We (SEOs) have been evolving together with search algorithms for decades. Most of true, valid SEO practices can and should be repackaged into a GEO and AI Optimization strategy.

If there’s one sector that has an advantage in this fast-moving AI-driven world, it’s SEO. (I made this up myself. It’s not ChatGPT-generated text, I swear! :))

We have unique experience for machine optimization that has evolved for decades.

Talk to me if you are lost.