SEO vs. AEO vs. GEO: What Actually Changed in Search

SEO earns rankings in a list of blue links. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) structures your content so an assistant can lift a correct, self-contained answer. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the work of becoming a source that generative engines cite by name.

Why the split happened

Search results increasingly resolve inside an answer rather than a list. When a buyer asks an assistant "who does managed IT in Mississauga", the model composes a response from sources it trusts. If your facts are inconsistent across your site, your Google Business Profile, and your other public profiles, the model has nothing stable to corroborate.

What to do differently

Lead every page and FAQ answer with a direct one or two sentence answer, then elaborate. Use question-shaped headings that mirror real queries. Keep FAQ answers between 40 and 60 words and factually self-contained. Publish structured data — Organization, Service, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList — so machines can parse entities rather than guess. Maintain an llms.txt file summarising who you are and what you do in plain English.

What has not changed

Technical fundamentals still decide everything. Fast pages, clean URLs, one H1 per page, real internal linking, and accurate structured data are prerequisites for both classic search and answer engines.