What Are AEO and GEO?

For twenty years, ranking meant one thing: showing up on a Google results page. That changed for good in 2026. As of July 10, Google made an AI-generated answer the default output for essentially every search, pushing the familiar ten blue links further down the page. And tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini answer questions directly too, sometimes citing sources, sometimes not.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) means structuring content so search engines can pull a direct answer from it. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) means structuring content so AI models choose to mention or cite your site when generating an answer.

The good news: most of what makes content good for AEO and GEO also makes it better for humans and for traditional SEO. Clear structure, direct answers and trustworthy sources win everywhere.