Is AEO different from SEO?

SEO earns a place in the list of results; AEO earns a place in the answer. They overlap — a page that ranks is easier to quote — but a page can rank and still never be quoted.

Is GEO the same as AEO?

They are close. AEO is about any answer engine quoting your page; GEO focuses on generative assistants that write an answer and name businesses in it. The same pages tend to serve both.

Which should a small business start with?

Start with the pages your buyers need answered — what you do, where, for whom, at what price. Those pages are the foundation of SEO, AEO and GEO at once.

How many questions should I track?

Ten to twenty. SearchAgent tracks up to 20 per workspace.

Is cannibalization always bad?

No. If two of your pages hold positions one and two, that is fine. It is a problem when neither ranks well.

Guides to SEO, AEO and GEO in plain English.

What each one means, how to measure it, and what to publish — useful whether or not you use SearchAgent.

What is AEO?

AEO is the work of getting your business into the answer itself — the summary Google shows above the links, or the reply ChatGPT gives — not just into the list of links below it.

What is GEO?

GEO is making sure AI assistants that write their answers — ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s AI Overviews — name your business and cite your site when someone asks for a recommendation.

SEO vs AEO vs GEO

SEO gets you into the list of results. AEO gets you quoted in the answer. GEO gets you named when an AI assistant makes a recommendation. One set of good pages serves all three.

Track your brand in ChatGPT

One question to ChatGPT tells you little — answers change. Here is a repeatable way to measure your AI mentions over time, by hand or with SearchAgent.

When your pages compete

Two of your pages aimed at the same search split Google’s attention, and often neither ranks well. Here is how to spot it and fix it.

Questions

Is AEO different from SEO? SEO earns a place in the list of results; AEO earns a place in the answer. They overlap — a page that ranks is easier to quote — but a page can rank and still never be quoted.
Is GEO the same as AEO? They are close. AEO is about any answer engine quoting your page; GEO focuses on generative assistants that write an answer and name businesses in it. The same pages tend to serve both.
Which should a small business start with? Start with the pages your buyers need answered — what you do, where, for whom, at what price. Those pages are the foundation of SEO, AEO and GEO at once.
How many questions should I track? Ten to twenty. SearchAgent tracks up to 20 per workspace.
Is cannibalization always bad? No. If two of your pages hold positions one and two, that is fine. It is a problem when neither ranks well.

About SearchAgent

SearchAgent, by Agent360, is a team of AI agents that tracks your business on Google and in AI answers from ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Overviews, then writes, publishes and refreshes the articles that close the gaps, set up and run with our team. Plans start at $97 a month, month to month.