AI · Strategy

GEO vs SEO: key differences and how to combine both strategies

SEO optimises your presence in Google. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) optimises your presence in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. They are not alternatives — they complement each other. But they require different approaches that are worth understanding.

What traditional SEO is and what still works

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the discipline of optimising a website to appear in the top results of traditional search engines, primarily Google. It has been the primary organic digital traffic channel for 25 years and remains absolutely relevant in 2026.

SEO works through a well-known process: Google's bots crawl web pages, index them in a huge database and rank them according to hundreds of factors to display the most relevant for each query. The most important factors remain: domain authority (measured in part by backlinks), the quality and relevance of content, the technical performance of the page (speed, mobile-first, Core Web Vitals) and user behaviour signals (time on page, bounce rate, clicks).

In 2026, Google still processes more than 8.5 billion searches per day. The vast majority of these searches still end in clicks to websites in the organic results. Claiming that 'SEO has died with AI' is premature — what has changed is the type of response Google gives for some informational queries, not the total volume of searches.

What GEO is and how AI optimisation works

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the discipline of optimising the presence of a brand, company or expert in generative response engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. When someone asks ChatGPT "what is the best digital marketing agency in the UK?", GEO determines whether your company appears in the generated response or not.

Unlike SEO, which works with ranking algorithms based on quantifiable signals, GEO works with language models that have been trained on internet data and 'cite' sources according to the frequency and quality with which an entity or concept appears in that training corpus and in updated sources such as the real-time web (Perplexity, Gemini) or uploaded documents (ChatGPT with Bing access).

The signals that most influence GEO visibility are: mentions in authoritative media (digital press, sector publications), backlinks from highly credible sources, well-implemented structured data on the website (Schema.org), consistent presence on Wikipedia or Wikidata for well-known brands, and quality content that demonstrates real expertise (E-E-A-T).

The key differences between SEO and GEO

Objective: SEO seeks positions in Google's search results; GEO seeks to be cited or recommended in AI-generated responses.

Measurement: SEO is highly measurable (position, impressions, clicks, organic traffic). GEO is much harder to measure precisely — mentions in ChatGPT responses do not generate directly trackable traffic.

Speed of results: SEO has measurable timelines (3–12 months to rank for competitive terms). GEO is more diffuse — a brand can go from never being cited to being regularly cited in AI responses without a single identifiable change.

Optimal content type: SEO favours detailed content with well-crafted keywords and impeccable technical structure. GEO favours content that demonstrates real authority, with data, concrete experiences and a clear brand positioning.

Backlinks: In SEO, backlinks are a fundamental ranking factor. In GEO, backlinks from high-authority sources (media, associations, academic publications) are also important, but more as a credibility signal than an algorithmic ranking factor.

Why you need both: SEO and GEO as an integrated strategy

SEO and GEO are not alternative strategies but complementary ones. SEO remains the channel with the highest volume of qualified traffic for most businesses. GEO is the emerging channel that captures an audience increasingly using AI as the entry point for their queries.

The most practical point is that many tactics that improve SEO also improve GEO. Creating quality content that demonstrates real expertise, obtaining mentions in authoritative media, implementing structured data correctly: all of this benefits both disciplines. They are not separate tactics competing for budget — they are the same good practices applied with awareness that multiple 'judges' are evaluating the content.

The main additional effort GEO requires compared to SEO is a focus on building brand authority: having a clear and recognisable point of view in your sector, publishing in external media as well as on your own blog, and ensuring that information about your company is consistent and verifiable across multiple external sources.

How to prioritise SEO vs GEO by business type

For local businesses (plumbers, dentists, restaurants, physical shops): Local SEO remains the most important channel by far. Local searches ('plumber near me', 'restaurant in the city centre') still receive responses primarily in Google Maps and organic results, not in ChatGPT. GEO has less practical relevance for this profile.

For e-commerce: Product and category SEO is fundamental for capturing buyers with clear purchase intent. GEO can be relevant for searches like 'best X for Y' where AI is already responding with product recommendations.

For professional services and B2B: GEO is becoming very relevant because B2B decision-makers use ChatGPT or Perplexity to research questions like 'what are the best digital marketing agencies for startups?'. Appearing in these responses can generate high-quality leads.

For brands with ambitions to become sector references: GEO should be at the centre of the content strategy. Being cited by ChatGPT as a reference on a topic is the digital equivalent of being the brand 'everyone knows' in the sector.