How are SEO and GEO alike, and how do they differ?
SEO gets you well placed in the list of results. GEO gets you named when someone asks for a recommendation. They share a foundation but are measured differently.
The guide and the concierge
Imagine you run a restaurant in a city with a lot of tourism.
SEO is being well placed in the city guide. Whoever opens it sees an ordered list, and the higher up you are, the more likely you are to be chosen. But the reader decides.
GEO is the hotel concierge recommending you when the guest asks. The concierge does not show a list: they give one or two names and explain why. They recommend what they know, what they have been told well and what they trust.
AI assistants behave like that concierge. That is why the work changes: being in the guide is no longer enough, you have to be someone worth recommending.
The comparison at a glance
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | To appear high in the list of results. | To appear inside the AI's answer. |
| What the user sees | A list of links to choose from. | A written answer with a few brands. |
| What carries most weight | Your own website: its content, its technical side and its links. | What is said about you across the web: your site, the media, reviews. |
| What is measured | Positions, clicks and visits. | Whether you are mentioned, whether you are recommended, and how you are described. |
How they are alike
- Both reward clarity. A tidy, well-written website helps Google and helps AI.
- Both need useful content that genuinely answers what the customer asks.
- Both rest on reputation. Others speaking well of you has always counted; now it counts more.
How they differ
In SEO, almost all the work happens inside your website. In GEO, an important part happens outside it: in the media, in guides, in reviews and in the profiles where your brand appears.
What can be measured changes too. With an AI answer in front of them, many people no longer click on any link. A Pew Research Center study found that when Google shows an AI summary, users click a result in 8% of visits; when it does not, in 15%.
Source: Pew Research Center, July 2025. Study carried out in the United States.
This means a brand can be influencing decisions without receiving the visit. That is why GEO does not count clicks alone: it looks at whether the brand appears and what is said about it.
A common mistake
Thinking GEO is SEO under another name. Those who treat it that way usually just touch up their website and are surprised when AI still does not name them. The website is necessary, but it is not enough: the part of the work that happens outside it is missing.
Do you have to choose between them?
No. GEO does not start from scratch: it is built on good SEO and adds two things, measuring what AI says and working on the brand's presence beyond its own website.
Frequently asked questions
If I already have good SEO, do I have GEO too?
You have a good foundation, but it is not the same. Some brands rank very well on Google and are barely mentioned by AI, because hardly anyone talks about them outside their own website.
Will GEO replace SEO?
We do not know, and be wary of anyone who says so with certainty. Today they coexist: people still search on Google and also ask AI. The sensible thing is to look after both.
Why am I getting fewer visits if things are going well?
Because some answers are given without the user leaving the search engine or the assistant. That is why it is worth measuring mentions as well as clicks.
What exactly is measured in GEO?
In how many answers your brand appears, whether it is recommended or only mentioned, alongside which competitors, and in what words it is described.