What Is SEO, GEO, and AEO?

SEO, AEO, and GEO are three overlapping names for getting found by different kinds of search systems. SEO is the oldest, aimed at ranking position on a traditional results page.

AEO came next, aimed at winning the answer box, whether that box is a featured snippet, a voice assistant response, or now an AI chat reply. GEO is the newest term, coined specifically for optimizing content so generative AI models cite it in a written answer.

In practice the three share nearly every technique, clear structure, direct answers, real authority. Most people now use the terms almost interchangeably.

Software that covers all three at once is what LLM SEO software was built to be.