Over the past year, you've started seeing the abbreviation “GEO” everywhere. Some agencies sell it as a new service item; others call it “the new name for SEO”. Neither is quite right.
The difference, in short
SEO (search engine optimisation) aims to get your site higher up a list of search results. It's measured by position: which result you are and how many clicks you got.
GEO (optimisation for generative search) aims to get AI to use your page as a source when it generates an answer to a question. It's measured not by position but by whether you're mentioned in the answer.
The most practical difference is this: with SEO, the user comes to your site; with GEO, the information goes to the user. In the second case, your name can be mentioned without you getting a click — or it may not be mentioned at all.
Why do you need both?
AI tools don't create information from scratch; to a large extent, they read crawlable web pages. So your site being crawled properly by search engines is also a prerequisite for GEO. A site with broken technical SEO is a site that AI can't see either.
The reverse is also true: if your page is crawled but doesn't give a clear answer to the question asked, you won't be cited as a source in generative answers, even if you appear in search results.
What should you do as a business?
- Write your services and how your pricing works CLEARLY on the page; a page that says “call for more details” can't give an answer to any system.
- Use real questions as the headings of your frequently asked questions, with a short, clear answer beneath each.
- Mark up your business details (address, phone, service area) with structured data.
- Don't neglect page speed and mobile-friendliness; a page that can't be crawled can't be cited as a source.
- Keep your claims verifiable. When you give conflicting information, AI cites your competitor as a source, not you.
Managing expectations
Like SEO, GEO isn't an area where guarantees can be given. A third-party system decides which source is shown, and that decision keeps changing. If anyone gives you a position or promises “you'll come first in AI”, be cautious.
What can be done is to build your site so that both search engines and generative systems understand it correctly. In our packages, this technical foundation comes at no extra cost.
