Introduction
As a continuation of my previous article on how AI affects Digital Marketers, it would be beneficial to introduce new terms to our digital strategy: AEO and GEO.
Nowadays, I have found numerous articles about the end of SEO and the beginning of an era of online searching through artificial intelligence. However, I disagree; SEO is not ending. It is similar to when Twitter became X — everyone predicted its demise, yet it remains relevant.
The same thing happens with SEO; it is not the end, but we need to adapt to the new ways people search online and position our brands accordingly.
What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Here are three clear definitions of Answer Engine Optimization:
“Answer Engine Optimization refers to the process of structuring and optimizing content so that AI-powered answer engines can directly extract, generate, and deliver responses to user queries without requiring traditional search-engine clicks.” — Sharma & Dhiman, 2025
“Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of improving a brand’s visibility in AI-powered answer engines — such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity — by earning mentions, citations, and placements within the engines’ generated responses.” — Berry, 2025
In other words, AEO is the one answer all of us see when we search for something on Google. The huge difference with SEO is that AEO provides us with real-time information, straightforwardly, without requiring any clicks.
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
According to the paper “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization”:
“Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the process of optimizing content so that it is selected, used, or cited by generative AI systems — such as large language models — when producing answers, summaries, or recommendations.” — Liu et al., 2023
GEO appears in all the AI agents, such as GPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. When you search for something on those agents, they scan rapidly through the entire web for the best definition for you, and the citations of those sources appear in your answer.
What does it mean for marketers?
As digital marketing enters the era of AI-powered search, both GEO and AEO will become lasting components of strategic practice. Their rise does not signal the end of SEO; rather, it marks a transition.
Marketers must preserve the foundational principles of SEO — relevance, structure, authority, and content quality — while adapting them to the behaviors of generative search systems.
This demands a renewed emphasis on authenticity, human expertise, and high-quality information. Paradoxically, succeeding in an AI-driven search landscape requires content that is more human, more credible, and more grounded in real experience than ever before.
Best Practices for AEO & GEO
- Structure content for machine readability. Use clear headings, Q&A formats, and semantic structure.
- Include evidence, citations, and explicit facts. AI models prefer content with statistics and sourced information.
- Prioritize earned authority over owned content. Generative engines favor third-party authoritative sources.
- Write for conversational and entity-based search. Focus on natural questions and clear entity descriptions.
- Optimize for scannability and justification. Use brief summaries and clearly stated reasoning.
- Track citations, not only clicks. New metrics reflect how often generative engines cite your content.
- Maintain human authenticity. Focus on real expertise, credibility, and grounded information.
Conclusion
The main conclusion is straightforward: we must adapt our digital strategies to the new terms and the new ways people search online. The shift brought by AI-powered search is not temporary — it is structural.
Accuracy, authenticity, and credibility in content creation have become more important than ever. The only way to remain present in the AI era is by producing content grounded in real people, real experiences, and real references.