SEO means search engine optimization. AEO, or answer engine optimization, and GEO, or generative engine optimization, are industry terms used for work intended to improve discoverability in answer-led and generative search experiences.
The terms overlap. For a business choosing an agency, the useful comparison is the work proposed, the evidence behind it and the way outcomes will be measured.
How the terms are commonly used
| Term | Typical discussion | Useful buyer question |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Visibility in search results | Which relevant searches and pages are being improved? |
| AEO | Clear answers to specific questions | What customer questions need a better answer? |
| GEO | Discoverability in generative responses | Which platforms are in scope, and how will observations be recorded? |
These are working industry descriptions rather than three independent ranking formulas. Google’s generative AI search guidance explains that its AI search experiences continue to rely on foundational SEO. Other platforms should be evaluated against their own documentation and observed behaviour.
Our position: ask for the deliverables behind the label
At SERP Radius, our recommendation is to start with a business question: what does a potential customer need to understand before choosing this service?
For a technical audit, the customer may need to know what will be investigated, what they receive and who implements the fixes. For a local service, they may need accurate coverage, eligibility information, proof and a clear enquiry route.
Changing a heading from SEO to GEO does not answer those questions. A useful proposal should identify the pages, sources, technical checks and measurement work involved.
What we checked on our own city pages
When we prepared the Mississauga and Hamilton pages, the work included public accessibility, canonical URLs, internal links, accurate service-area information and structured-data output.
We corrected unsuitable inherited schema and duplicate breadcrumb output through page-specific controls. We retained the actual locations and attribution of existing case studies instead of presenting them as local results from the new cities.
That matters editorially: a page should make the business’s offer easier to assess without inventing evidence. These checks verified implementation. They did not demonstrate that either page gained AI citations.
A worked example: improving an unclear service explanation
Imagine a fictional agency page that says, “We optimize for the future of AI-powered discovery.” The statement offers little help to an owner comparing proposals.
A more useful explanation could identify the decisions involved:
- Which service pages are difficult to interpret or poorly connected?
- Which statements need supporting evidence or clearer qualification?
- Which important content is inaccessible or inconsistent?
- Which customer questions remain unanswered?
- How will the agency distinguish observations from attributable enquiries?
The improvement is a more specific explanation of the service. It should remain useful even if industry terminology changes.
What we would ask before buying an AEO or GEO package
Ask the provider to name the platforms covered. Google Search, ChatGPT and other discovery tools are different products; a claim about one is not automatically evidence about another.
Then ask for the work plan and reporting method. A practical proposal can state which pages will be reviewed, what technical access will be checked, how sources will be verified and how referral or enquiry data will be assessed where available.
If reporting includes sampled AI responses, request the prompts, dates, platform and method. A single appearance is an observation. It should not be presented as a stable ranking or proof of consistent exposure to customers.
How to measure progress without overstating it
We recommend separating four kinds of evidence:
| Evidence | What it can help establish |
|---|---|
| Implementation checks | Agreed changes are present and technically accessible |
| Search Console data | Relevant Google Search impressions and clicks |
| Referral and enquiry records | Visits and business actions where attribution is available |
| Recorded answer samples | What a specified platform returned under documented conditions |
None of these should silently stand in for the others. A successful crawl check is not a lead, and a sampled citation is not a customer.
Do you need separate SEO, AEO and GEO pages?
Our recommendation is to give each page a distinct customer purpose. Three near-identical sales pages that explain the same offer through different acronyms make comparison harder.
For this comparison, we cover the related terminology together. Our AI SEO service page explains the commercial scope, while our guide to getting cited in ChatGPT and AI Overviews addresses citation-readiness questions.
If you are assessing a proposal, speak with SERP Radius about the work, evidence and measurement behind it.