GEO, AEO, LLMO and SEO for AI: what each term means
Quick answer
GEO, AEO, LLMO and SEO for AI are different names for the same goal: getting AI assistants and search engines with generated answers to name and link to your brand. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the most widely used. Google makes clear that, for its search engine, optimising for its AI features is SEO; outside Google the rules are less well documented and are worth measuring.
Equivalence table
The industry uses several names for overlapping work. This table summarises how each term is used in 2026.
| Term | Meaning | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Search Engine Optimization: ranking pages in a search engine’s results. | It is the foundation for everything else. |
| GEO | Generative Engine Optimization: being cited in the answers generated by AI assistants. | It is the most widespread term in the industry. |
| AEO | Answer Engine Optimization: being the direct answer to a question. | Sometimes used as a synonym for GEO and sometimes for featured answers and voice search. |
| LLMO | Large Language Model Optimization: optimising your presence in language models. | Focuses on the model rather than the search engine. |
| SEO para IA, posicionamiento en IA | The Spanish names for the same work. | Not to be confused with using AI to do SEO, which is something else. |
| AIO | Ambiguous abbreviation: it can mean AI Overviews or AI Optimization. | Better to avoid it if you want to be understood. |
| Vistas creadas con IA | Official Spanish name for AI Overviews. | ChatGPT once translated it as “Visión general creada por IA”, so not everyone writes it the same way. |
What Google says: for its search engine, GEO is SEO
Google’s official guide for website owners, updated in July 2026, answers the question head on. AEO and GEO are terms used for work aimed at improving visibility in AI search experiences and, from Google Search’s point of view, optimising for them is optimising for search: it is still SEO. The guide also lists practices you can ignore if your goal is Google:
- Creating files such as
llms.txtor other special formats: Google Search doesn’t use them. You have the full analysis in llms.txt for ecommerce. - Chopping content into fragments designed for AI.
- Rewriting your texts only for AI systems.
- Chasing fake mentions across the web.
- Obsessing over structured data: it isn’t required for generative AI features, although Google still recommends it for rich results.
What it does recommend is the same SEO as always: original, useful content, clear technical structure, indexable pages, a good page experience and, for stores, product data in Merchant Center. Another Google document adds that there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. For the case of stores, see Google AI Overviews and ecommerce.
And ChatGPT, Perplexity and other assistants
Google’s guide talks about Google. Other assistants may weigh signals differently and their criteria are less well documented. What has been measured is that their answers vary a lot: in a Sourcelift test, Perplexity changed its first recommendation four minutes after the question was repeated. That is why GEO’s own contribution outside Google is mainly about measurement: you can’t optimise blind, you have to check what each assistant answers and where it gets it from. You have a method in how to measure your visibility in ChatGPT and other AI.
What to do in your store, whatever it is called
- Secure the base SEO. Indexed, crawlable, fast pages with no duplicates. See technical SEO for ecommerce.
- Write content only you can write. Real measurements, tests with your products, buying guides with judgement. Google points to this as the lever that usually has the most impact in the long run.
- Keep your product data clean. Merchant Center feed and structured data that are complete and consistent with the product page. See Merchant Center feed.
- Earn real mentions. Reviews, press and editorial comparisons.
- Measure every month. Search Console for Google and a fixed set of questions for the other assistants.
How to use this when hiring or reading about an agency
If an agency sells you GEO as something completely different from SEO, ask them to explain what they do differently and how they measure it. If they promise guaranteed citations in ChatGPT, that is a warning sign. An honest agency separates what is documented (SEO, product data, content) from what is in a testing phase (influence on assistants outside Google). In SEO vs GEO for ecommerce and how to choose a GEO agency you have the criteria.
Frequently asked questions
Are GEO and AEO the same thing?
In practice the industry uses them almost as synonyms. AEO usually refers to being the direct answer to a question and GEO to appearing in AI-generated answers. If an agency uses one or the other, ask what they measure.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. Google says SEO is still the foundation of its AI features, which rely on its ranking and quality systems.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
Not for Google: Google Search doesn’t use those files. If you create it for other systems, it neither harms nor improves your presence on Google.
What is “Vistas creadas con IA”?
It is the official Spanish name for AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries Google shows for some searches.
Do I have to write differently for AI to understand me?
Google says there is no need to rewrite your texts for AI systems, because they understand synonyms and general meaning. Write clearly for people.
Sources consulted
- Google Search Central: optimising for generative AI features
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Marketing Directo: the best GEO agencies in Spain in 2026, a Sourcelift analysis (in Spanish)
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