Every few weeks someone relitigates whether it is AEO, GEO, AI SEO, LLMO, or something newer. It is a fun argument and a waste of time. The terms point at slightly different angles on the same job: getting your brand surfaced by AI. Here is the version that lets you stop debating and start building.
The three terms, plainly
Answer engine optimization (AEO) optimizes for being the direct answer to a question. Picture a featured snippet, except the snippet is the entire result and there is no list underneath it. AEO rewards crisp, extractable answers and clear question-first structure.
Generative engine optimization (GEO) optimizes for being a source a model pulls into a longer, synthesized answer. Less about being the whole answer, more about being quoted inside it. GEO rewards being the most specific, most verifiable source on a topic.
AI SEO is the umbrella over both, plus the technical groundwork that makes either possible. It is just SEO that assumes the reader is a machine that summarizes instead of clicks. We use AI search optimization for the same idea.
Where they actually diverge
The signals overlap so heavily that treating AEO and GEO as separate projects wastes effort. Clean structure, factual consistency, schema, and citations feed both. The divergence is intent. AEO wants you to resolve a question outright, so it pushes you toward concise, lifted answers. GEO wants you to be the source worth quoting, so it pushes you toward original data and depth. You can serve both on the same page: lead with the crisp answer for AEO, back it with the specific evidence for GEO.
Why the bigger frame matters
Here is the part the acronym fights miss. Being read and cited is only the first half. The web is moving toward agents that do not just answer, they act: they compare, they recommend, they book, they buy. Optimizing to be cited and ignoring whether an agent can actually use your site is optimizing for the easy half.
That is why we frame the whole thing as agent legibility: read, cite, act, transact, measure. AEO and GEO are how you win read and cite. The advantage compounds when you keep going. So pick whichever acronym your team likes, then get back to the work. Start with the AEO / GEO checklist.